Dr. Navesh K. Sharma on Older Patients Tolerating Internal Radiation

Dr. Navesh K. Sharma, associate professor of Radiology in the Division of Radiology and Oncology at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and section chief of Radiation Oncology at the Penn State Health St. Joseph Cancer Center, discusses that age should not be a deciding factor in giving internal radiation to patients with liver cancer.

Results from the phase III SIRFLOX study showed that the addition selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) to chemotherapy significantly improved median progression-free survival for patients with liver cancer. Secondary analyses, such as the MORE study, went on to prove that age is not a factor in predicting a patient’s success with internal radiation.

In the MORE study, Sharma compared the results of patients younger than 65 to those who were older than 65 and saw no statistical difference. He emphasizes that as patients are living longer and healthier lives, age should not matter in selection of treatment or trial enrollment. Instead, overall health should be considered.

<<<

View more from the 2016 World Congress on GI Cancer