Cancer Treatment Less Effective in Older Patients

As age increases, so does the risk for cancer. More than half of all cancer cases occur in people over 65. This is especially true for mesothelioma. The average age at diagnosis for pleural mesothelioma — the most common form of the disease — is 69. Despite cancer being more common among the elderly, many cancer treatments work best in younger patients. Researchers now have an idea of why certain cancer treatments don’t work as well in older patients. These important findings were published in June in the medical journal Cell Reports. “While it is clear that primary T cell responses decline in the elderly, there is little understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underpin this dysfunction,” the authors wrote. According to the study, we now know a certain subset of immune system T cells lose their ability to respond to threats as we age. The Aging Immune System Immune system changes occur as we age. Health experts know this can make us more vulnerable to a number of disease and conditions, including the seasonal flu, colds, other infections and food borne illness. Research has shown immune changes also make us more prone to cancer as the years accumulate. In younger people, a single cancer cell often is recognized by the immune system as dangerous and is destroyed before it can form a tumor. With age, the body may fail to recognize cancer as a threat, and the immune system fails to contain the disease. Immune Cells: Wrong Kind and Less Responsive These sam...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news