Clinicopathological analysis on cancers of autopsy cases in a geriatric hospital
- 1 May 1997
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Pathology International
- Vol. 47 (5), 293-300
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1827.1997.tb04496.x
Abstract
It is generally accepted that cancers in the eiderly are of low grade mallgnancy. In order to clarify this point, autopsy cases from a medical center for the elderly between 1982 and 1994 were pathologlcally analyzed. Three hundred and fifty (160 males, 190 females) out of a total of 871 (361 males, 510 females) autopsy cases were examined. The Incidence of cancer In varlous age groups were found to be as follows: 100 years, 12/21 (57%). The incidences did not significantly differ among the groups, that is, there was no age‐dependency in the Incidence of cancer. Furthermore, the incidences of multiple cancers (two or more different malignancies In one patient) also did not differ. However, deaths due to the cancers showed a tendency to decrease with age. The survival periods of clinical cancer cases without a surgical operation history (time period between the date of diagnosis and death), were age‐related for female cases. However, the rate of distant metastasis was not age‐related. The incidence of latent cancers in individuals over 85 years of age was 79/174 (45.4%) and significantly higher than the value of 69/234 (29.5%) for those under 85. The number of malignant tumors in various organs for the different age groups was also counted and the total numbers of clinical cancers and latent cancers in each organ were, 50 and 23 in the lung, 46 and 20 in the stomach, 41 and 31 in the colon, 0 and 39 in the prostate, and 14 and 0 in the mammary glands, respectively. All prostate cancers were latent cancers, and all mammary cancers were clinical cancers. These findings provide strong evidence that cancers In individuals of advanced age have less mailgnency potential.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Clinical aspects of cancer in the elderly. Treatment decisions, treatment choices, and follow-upCancer, 1994
- Cancer statistics, 1993CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 1993
- Age Trends of Lung Cancer Stage at DiagnosisJAMA, 1987
- Stage at Diagnosis of Cancer Varies With the Age of the PatientJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1986
- Bronchogenic Cancer, Metastases, and AgingJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1983
- Cancer Stage‐to‐Age Relationship: Implications for Cancer Screening in the Elderly*Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1981
- Lung cancer in a defined geographical area: history and histological types.Thorax, 1980
- The natural history of lung cancer: A review based on rates of tumour growthRespiratory Medicine, 1979
- Cancer and old age.An autopsy study of 3,535 patients over 65 years oldCancer, 1974
- 3)Immune Responses with AgingJapanese Journal of Medicine, 1971