Therapy for hematologic cancers in older patients, quality of life, and health economics: Difficult decisions
Cet article analyse les enjeux médicaux, éthiques et économiques associés au traitement des patients âgés atteints de cancers hématologiques
Modern medicine provides unprecedented treatment options, including therapy for cancer, a frequent problem in an aging population. Comorbidities in older patients render decisions on intensive, potentially curative therapy difficult because such therapy affects quality of life (QOL), and success rates are lower than in younger patients. When considering intensive chemotherapy and hematopoietic cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML), common diseases of old age, how do we weigh medical, ethical, and socioeconomic aspects and QOL?