Cancer and old age. An autopsy study of 3,535 patients over 65 years old

A study of 3535 consecutive autopsied patients over 65 years of age showed that 1,149 patients (32.5%) had one or more cancers. Males were affected by cancer nearly twice as frequently as females in this elderly population (40.3% vs. 23.9%). There were more incidental neoplasms as age advanced. Amon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer 1974-04, Vol.33 (4), p.1164-1168
Main Authors: Suen, Kenneth C., Lau, Leon L., Yermakov, Valentin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Aged
Autopsy
Colonic Neoplasms - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Kidney Neoplasms - epidemiology
Male
Neoplasm Metastasis
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Prostatic Neoplasms - epidemiology
Sex Factors
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Summary:A study of 3535 consecutive autopsied patients over 65 years of age showed that 1,149 patients (32.5%) had one or more cancers. Males were affected by cancer nearly twice as frequently as females in this elderly population (40.3% vs. 23.9%). There were more incidental neoplasms as age advanced. Among the common cancers, the most frequent incidental cancers were those of the prostate gland, kidney, and colon. Cancer tended to metastasize less frequently in the elderly. Several possibilities have been proposed to explain the paucity of metastases in later life.
ISSN:0008-543X
1097-0142
DOI:10.1002/1097-0142(197404)33:4<1164::AID-CNCR2820330440>3.0.CO;2-O