- In the next 20 years, 65% of new cancer cases will be concentrated in the population over 60 years of age. one
- Despite this projection, a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach will make it possible to live with a neoplasm for longer and better.
- It is estimated that half of the cases of tumors could be avoided or at least delayed with small changes in lifestyle.
Facing the world cancer day which is commemorated every February 4, oncologists and hematologists met to talk about the subject. The purpose was to raise the great challenges represented by the aging of the population and its implications in terms of medical care and treatment against this disease. disease that causes 10 million deaths annually.
Elderly population is at high risk
In recent decades, the population structure of the world and the country has changed at an accelerated pace. According to current projections, It is estimated that in 2050 a quarter of the Mexican population will be people over 60 years of age.
Aging also goes hand in hand with the incidence of tumors because for By 2040, 65% of new cancer cases will be concentrated in this population group. These figures show the relevance of dignifying health care and seeking a better quality of life, even in advanced stages of life.
“We are living in a moment of transition where aging will be a common condition and from now on we must take care of tracing the path so that older adults have good care and methodical follow-up, preventing their age or their natural condition of fragility from having any influence on treatment decisions,” says Dr. José Athié Rubio, medical leader of Sanofi’s Hemato-Oncology therapeutic area.
Advances made against various tumors
A clear example of this progress can be seen in the care of the prostate cancer. In this disease between 40 and 60 percent of the cases are diagnosed late and it is the leading cause of death in men over 65 years of age.
“Unlike the first world, in Mexico there is five times more probability of developing metastatic prostate cancer. With the volume of these patients being so high, it is of great value that the advances in research and new therapies have managed to increase the expectation of overall survival from an average of 2 years to 5.5 years”, says Dr. Miguel Ángel Álvarez Avitia , medical oncologist attached to the Genito-Urinary Tumor Service of the National Institute of Cancerology.
Along the same lines, innovation has contributed significantly to the care of the multiple myelomathe second most frequent hematological cancer in Mexico that occurs mainly in people over 60 years of age.
“Multiple myeloma is directly associated with aging, it is a complex disease that is usually detected late, which generates relapses and resistance to treatment. Fortunately, in patients with recurrence, the new strategies combined with immunotherapy reduce the risk of disease progression or death by 45%”, comments Dr. Eduardo Reynoso, head of the Hemato-Oncology service at Hospital Español.
High specialty medicine in advanced prostate cancer and multiple myelomahas not only contributed to more specific mechanisms of action and better safety profiles, but has also improved the survival rate in these patients, who are commonly older than 60 years.
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