The mission of the City of Hope Cancer and Aging Research Program is to join investigators from all cancer disciplines to study the biology, treatment, and survivorship issues which face older adults with cancer. The results of this research will be applicable to the majority of patients with cancer because approximately 60% of cancer diagnoses and 70% of cancer mortality occur in patients over the age of 65.
The number of older patients with cancer and cancer survivors is rapidly growing because the U.S. population is aging with a projected doubling in the number of patients 65 and older by 2030. Although the majority of cancers occur in older adults, these patients have been under-represented on the national cancer clinical trials which set the standards for oncology care. Few studies have specifically focused on the unique issues which face older adults such as the impact of age related declines in physiology, polypharmacy, or comorbid medical conditions on treatment tolerance.