Adapted EXTREME regimen in the first-line treatment of fit, older patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (ELAN-FIT): a multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial.

Background: A standard treatment for fit, older patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is yet to be established. In the previous EXTREME trial, few older patients were included. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of an adapted EXTREME regimen in fit, older patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC.

Cetuximab versus methotrexate in first-line treatment of older, frail patients with inoperable recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (ELAN UNFIT): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background: At present, there is no established standard treatment for frail older patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of cetuximab to those of methotrexate (the reference regimen) in this population.

Methods: This randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial was done at 20 hospitals in France.

Protein intake, weight loss, dietary intervention, and worsening of quality of life in older patients during chemotherapy for cancer.

Decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is common in patients with cancer. We investigated the effects of dietary intervention and baseline nutritional status on worsening of HRQoL in older patients during chemotherapy. In this randomized control trial assessing the effect on mortality of dietary advice to increase dietary intake during chemotherapy, this post hoc analysis included 155 patients with cancer at risk of malnutrition.

Treatment of inoperable elderly head and neck cancer patients.

Purpose Of Review: Elderly head and neck cancer (HNC) patients are very rarely enrolled in clinical trials, and even more so in dedicated trials in curative or palliative setting. As a result, no standards of treatment exist for this population and thus, adaptation of standard treatments is commonly used.

Recent Findings: The choice between a monotherapy and a platinum-cetuximab combination is based on the performance status, which is not suitable and/or sufficient to evaluate the patient ability to receive a systemic treatment combined or not with radiotherapy.

Adverse events need for hospitalization and systemic immunosuppression in very elderly patients (over 80 years) treated with ipilimumab for metastatic melanoma.

Background: Checkpoint inhibitors are first-line therapies in melanoma, but safety in older adults has not yet been assessed. Ipilimumab improves survival, but immunologic-related adverse events (AEs) can be threatening, and its use in elderly people raises questions.

Aim: To assess safety in a cohort of very elderly patients treated with ipilimumab.

Chemoradiation in elderly esophageal cancer patients: rationale and design of a phase I/II multicenter study (OSAGE).

Background: The management of elderly patients with cancer is a therapeutic challenge and a public health problem. Definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an accepted standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer who cannot undergo surgery. However, there are few reports regarding tolerance to CRT in elderly patients.

Screening for vulnerability in older cancer patients: the ONCODAGE Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: Geriatric Assessment is an appropriate method for identifying older cancer patients at risk of life-threatening events during therapy. Yet, it is underused in practice, mainly because it is time- and resource-consuming. This study aims to identify the best screening tool to identify older cancer patients requiring geriatric assessment by comparing the performance of two short assessment tools the G8 and the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13).

Functional decline in older patients with cancer receiving first-line chemotherapy.

Purpose: To determine factors associated with early functional decline during first-line chemotherapy in older patients.

Patients And Methods: Patients age ≥ 70 years receiving first-line chemotherapy for cancer were prospectively considered for inclusion across 12 centers in France. Functional decline was defined as a decrease of ≥ 0.

Predictors of early death risk in older patients treated with first-line chemotherapy for cancer.

Purpose: Objective factors for making choices about the treatment of elderly patients with cancer are lacking. This investigation aimed to help physicians select appropriate treatments through the identification of factors that predict early death (< 6 months) after initiation of chemotherapy treatment.

Patients And Methods: Previously untreated patients greater than 70 years of age who were scheduled for first-line chemotherapy for various types of cancer were included.

Agronomical factors influencing the legumin/vicilin ratio in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seeds.

Background: Many research studies have investigated the impact of agronomical factors on the protein content of pea (Pisum sativum). This study aimed to establish if a correlation exists between protein content and legumin/vicilin (L/V) ratio in pea seeds and to identify agronomical factors that have an impact on this ratio.

Results: The L/V ratio was positively correlated with protein content (r = 0.

Evaluation of efficacy and safety of FOLFIRI for elderly patients with gastric cancer: a first-line phase II study.

Objective: Current chemotherapy protocols for gastric cancer present high toxicity. The FOLFIRI regimen has shown promising results with elderly colorectal cancer patients and for gastric cancer patients but this is the first report on elderly gastric cancer patients.

Design: In this multicenter non-randomized phase II trial, we administered the FOLFIRI chemotherapy protocol (irinotecan [180 mg/m(2)], fluorouracil [5-FU] [400 mg/m(2)] and folinic acid 400 mg/m(2) or 200mg/m(2) of l-folinic acid) to patients aged over 70 years with locally-advanced or metastatic gastric cancer combined with Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA).

First-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer in patients ≥75 years: a retrospective single-centre analysis.

Data on chemotherapy for elderly patients with metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC) are limited. We performed a 7-year retrospective analysis of MBC patients at our institution receiving first-line chemotherapy aged ≥75 years. Of 117 patients, 103 received monotherapy (67 capecitabine, 29 vinorelbine, 5 docetaxel, 2 liposomal doxorubicin) and 14 received polychemotherapy (12 anthracycline-based, 2 vinorelbine-gemcitabine).

Impact of liposomal doxorubicin-based adjuvant chemotherapy on autonomy in women over 70 with hormone-receptor-negative breast carcinoma: A French Geriatric Oncology Group (GERICO) phase II multicentre trial.

Rationale: Breast cancer is a disease of ageing. Functional independence in elderly patients, measured with the Katz activities of daily living (ADL) scale, predicts overall survival and the need for welfare support. Few prospective studies have examined the feasibility of adjuvant chemotherapy and its impact on autonomy in women over 70 years of age with high-risk breast cancer.

Management of unfit patients with unfavourable non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Lymphoma is a malignant disease that often occurs in elderly patients. Although many treatment options are available, comorbidities and limitations of functional reserves limit their use in frail patients. Still, because of the high sensitivity of disease to these treatments, even reduced doses and schedules may allow long-term disease control or even cure.