Anemia is a common problem in elderly patients. The National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES III) reported that the incidence of anemia steadily increases
after age 50. Anemia is found in 10% and 11% of women and men respectively who were
older than age 65, and in 20% of individuals≥85 years. In this same series, the causes of anemia in patients over 65 years were equally attributed to nutritional deficiency, anemia of inflammation, and
“unexplained” causes.
1
Anemia in the geriatric population has unique significance because it is an independent
predictor of morbidity, mortality, and frailty. Consistently an inverse relationship
between the number of co-morbid medical conditions and anemia is observed. The anemia
associated with malignancy is complex and multifactorial. It may be caused by blood
loss, marrow infiltration, erythrophagocytosis, or inflammation. The treatment of
anemia in geriatric oncology patients is likely to be even more complex.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 16, 2012
Accepted:
April 16,
2012
Received:
April 12,
2012
(Editorial will accompany Luciani et al. "The impact of fatigue and anemia on functional status in older cancer patients treated with chemotherapy"; Aapro et al. "Haematological support, fatigue, and elderly patients"; and Ludwig et al. "Anaemia in elderly patients with cancer: Focus on chemotherapy-induced anaemia")Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc.
