SIOG 2014

"We strongly advise elderly patients to participate in studies," Dr Wildiers tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014. He discusses elder-specific trials of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer and notes the unique challenges of treating HER-2 metastatic breast cancer in the elderly.

Frailty is a very debated concept in the treatment of elderly cancer patients, Dr Rainfray tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014. She discusses a definition of geriatric frailty, metrics for determining whether a patient is frail, and its implications for cancer treatment.

Dr Weis talks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about his work looking at the coping process of cancer patients in dealing with the distress of diagnosis and treatment. In addition to pain relief, he stresses the significance of cancer-related fatigue and depression and outlines some of the steps which can help alleviate the strain of such issues. For example, identifying the times when a patient is less fatigued and encouraging exercise, as well as relaxation techniques and other psychosocial forms of support.

Dr Vuoristo talks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about the trial of a new colorectal screening method which can be done at home.

Dr Aapro speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about NEPA, a single-capsule combination of netupitant and palonosetron, which prevents vomiting and nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Dr Cheung updates ecancertv on the geriatric surgery landscape at SIOG 2014, touching on hot topics such as personalised surgery for the elderly.

"Age proved to be the most important factor to undergo - or not undergo - chemotherapy," Dr Markopoulos tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014. He discusses the results of a multidisciplinary survey of 900 physicians in 52 countries, examining the interaction between age and breast cancer screening, diagnosis and outcome. The survey seems to indicate that physicians are more reluctant to prescribe chemotherapy to geriatric patients, and that elderly patients require more proof of benefit.

Dr Cheung talks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about his work on the protein LKB1, which is linked to the production of oestrogen. He studied its potential use as a biomarker in tissue collected from older patients with primary breast cancer.

The elderly are at higher risk for post-operative complications, Dr Cheung tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014. What are the surgeon's responsibilities? He also discusses post-operative delirium and post-operative personalised care.

Dr Kenis speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about implementing geriatric screening and assessment in clinical practise, including the ten-point assessment of geriatric health.

"Population-based screening is causing more harm than good," Dr Kataja says to ecancertv at SIOG 2014. He discusses the complications of cancer screening in the elderly, particularly the risks and benefits of prostate and breast cancer screening in geriatric patients.

Is palliative care at the end of life driven by multimorbidity or by cultural and ethnic issues? Dr Koroukian discusses the end-of-life phase with ecancertv at SIOG 2014.

At SIOG 2014, Prof Kataja speaks to ecancertv about the challenges of using new cancer therapeutics on the elderly population. The latest therapeutics, such as targeted therapies, are rarely trialled on the elderly - what implications does this have for treatment?

"We must dispel this concept of ageism," Dr Kanesvaran tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014. He discusses his study on sunitinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma, which found that patients benefit from a lower dose. Older patients may particularly benefit from starting treatment at lowered doses.

Prof Clarke (The Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK) chairs a discussion with Prof Efstathiou (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA), Prof Mottet (University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France), and Prof Costa (University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal) for ecancertv about the latest advancements in prostate cancer treatment. They consider how the integration of concepts can inform the development of treatment strategies for advanced prostate cancer, looking at high-risk locally advanced disease, metastatic hormone sensitive disease, and the management of older patients.

"Understanding someone's life expectancy places into context whether they will benefit from therapy," Prof Hurria tells ecancertv at SIOG 2014, addressing the need to balance life expectancy, quality of life and risk when choosing cancer treatments for the elderly and frail.

Dr Gajra speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about the challenges of adjuvant chemotherapy for elderly patients, including the challenges of prescribing cisplatin-based therapy, the consideration of patient frailty, and quality of life.

Sara Faithfull explains the correlation between prostate cancer and hip fractures to ecancertv at SIOG 2014. Patients who are successfully treated for prostate cancer could later die to complications from a hip fracture. "Seven percent of the men [with hip fractures] in the database had prostate cancer and were treated for it," she says, suggesting that when patients are placed on androgen deprivation, doctors should follow up for hip fracture screening.

Prof Gosney speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about "cancer buddies" for patients over the age of seventy. Cancer buddies can perform practical tasks, such as caring for homebound spouses to allow caretaking patients to access cancer treatment, as well as providing patients with emotional support.

Prof Stauder (Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria) chairs a discussion with Dr Morrison (University of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, USA) and Dr Cruz-Jentoft (University Hospital Ramon y Cajal , Madrid, Spain) for ecancertv about the treatment of elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). They discuss the ways in which older patients with haematological malignancies can be assessed and how newer treatment options can be incorporated which may modify current standards. In addition, they consider the importance of supportive care in CLL.

Dr Dalmasso talks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about biomarkers for assessing frailty in both elderly and young people to help personalise oncological treatment programmes.

Dr Dettino speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about the challenges of practising geriatric oncology in Brazil, and touches on some of the positives.

Dr de Glas talks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about her research on screening elderly patients for breast cancer. For every advanced stage tumour predicted, many elderly women were overdiagnosed. "In this age group, we should not offer population-based screening, but personalised screening," Dr de Glas says. "Screening can actually harm people, especially in the older age group."

Dr Balducci speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about complex cancers in the elderly, particularly the issues surrounding comorbidity, life expectancy and decision-making. Many elderly patients have multiple complicating health factors."You have to unravel this mass of information," he says.

Dr Brain speaks to ecancertv at SIOG 2014 about the ASTER 70s phase III trial, examining the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for oestrogen receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer in women over 70 according to genomic grade.