Systemic treatment of gastric and esophageal adenocarcinoma in elderly patients.

This article explores the treatment of cancer of the stomach and of the lower esophagus in older individuals. The incidence of both malignancies increases with age and, at present, the biology of the diseases, including sensitivity to chemotherapy, does not seem to change with age. The treatment of these cancers in patients 70 and over includes assessment of life expectancy secondary to physiologic age and evaluation of the individual's tolerance to stress. For this purpose a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is the best validated instrument. For individuals whose life expectancy without cancer exceeds that with cancer, the estimate of the risk of chemotherapy complications may reveal those patients in need of additional care and those patients in whom the risk of treatment may exceed the potential benefits. All older individuals receiving chemotherapy may need adjustment of the doses to the glomerular filtration rate, support with myelopoietic growth factors, and special care to prevent severe and irreversible neurotoxicity.