Older cancer patients face an elevated treatment challenge due to age-related health issues
In a significant development, a team of researchers led by Geisinger, a renowned healthcare organisation, has published a study in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology. The study, which focuses on assessing therapy burden in elderly bladder cancer patients, could have far-reaching implications for the treatment of cancer in older adults, particularly in rural areas.
Geisinger, with its extensive network of nine hospital campuses, is well-positioned to conduct such research. The organisation boasts a Research Institute, a Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and employs over 1,600 employed physicians and nearly 24,000 people.
The study, conducted on 73,395 Medicare beneficiaries aged 66 and older who had been diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, found that the mean treatment burden for the group was 8.9 days. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of the patients had multiple co-existing chronic conditions at the time of bladder cancer diagnosis.
The presence of multiple co-existing conditions had the largest effect on treatment burden, with each additional condition increasing the average number of health system contact days by 13%. This finding underscores the need for interventions that reduce treatment burden among older adults with cancer, particularly in rural areas.
Tullika Garg, M.D., M.P.H., a urologic oncologist at Geisinger and lead author of the study, emphasised the importance of these findings. She stated, "The findings highlight the need for interventions that reduce treatment burden among older adults with cancer, particularly in rural areas."
In addition to its research efforts, Geisinger offers innovative programs like 65 Forward Health Centers for personalised primary care and wellness services for Geisinger Gold members, and Geisinger at Home, which brings care into the home for Geisinger Gold members with certain chronic conditions.
Geisinger's contributions extend beyond healthcare, as it contributes billions of dollars annually to hometown economies in Pennsylvania. The DOI for the research is 10.1016/j.jgo.2021.04.005. The study was also published in the European Urology journal by the Young Academic Urologists Uro-Oncology Group.
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