Older patients ‘being denied cancer cure’

Older patients suffering from a common cancer are less likely than younger people to receive curative treatments for the disease, a study in Yorkshire warns today.

Experts at Sheffield University examined the records of 3,300 patients diagnosed with bladder cancer in the city between 1994 and 2009.

They found 52 per cent of patients aged under 60 had potentially curative treatments but only 34 per cent of those in their 70s and 12 per cent over 80 were given the same therapies. Older patients over 70 were more likely to die of their cancer.

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Study author and consultant surgeon James Catto said: “Even though it appears that older patients are more likely to have aggressive tumours, our findings suggest that not enough older patients are being offered treatments that could increase their chance of survival.

“What’s very worrying is this conservative approach to treating older patients appears to be affecting the life expectancy of this group, something that doctors must work hard to combat.”

Kathryn Scott, of the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research, which funded the work, said: “This research shows that the age of bladder cancer patients in Sheffield greatly affects how they are treated.

“This has a considerable effect on mortality rates in elderly bladder cancer patients and Yorkshire, along with the rest of the UK, is going to have to change to address this striking difference.”

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Sarah Woolnough, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said: “These decisions are never easy and need to be balanced with quality of life but it’s vital for patients of all ages to be given the option of a possible cure when it is still feasible.”