Published in:
01-12-2013 | Editorial
Current status of treatment strategy for elderly patients with gastric cancer
Author:
Atsushi Nashimoto
Published in:
International Journal of Clinical Oncology
|
Issue 6/2013
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Excerpt
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the chronological age of 65 or older as a definition of “elderly” or older person, and defined the former aged for people from 65 to 74 years, the latter aged for people from 75 to 84 years, and the super aged for people 85 years and more. In industrialized countries, life expectancy has increased consistently over the past decades. Life expectancy (male/female) in Japan was 18.86/23.89 years for those 65 years old, 11.58/15.38 years for those 75 years old, and 6.18/8.30 years for those 85 years old by the complete life table in 2010, respectively. In Japan the population peaked in 2004 and has been decreasing recently. However, the number of people 65 years old and over is increasing continuously, being 23.0 % in 2010; further, 20 % of gastric cancer patients in Japan are more than 80 years old. According to the aging society, the current status of treatment strategy for elderly patients with gastric cancer is discussed. …
