Clinical research in the older cancer patient

Despite the well-recognized increase in cancer incidence with age, and the increasing proportion of: elderly in our population, little research has been specifically targeted to elderly subjects. Three areas that represent current efforts to increase clinical research on the elderly cancer patient are addressed in this article. The first is a series of research initiatives proposed by the National Institutes of Health through a collaboration of the National institute of Aging and the National Cancer Institute. The second area is comprised of studies conducted by Cancer and Acute Leukemia Group B (CALGB) one of the major clinical cancer trials cooperative groups in the United States, and the third is comprised of specific approaches aimed at better defining cancer drug pharmacology in the elderly, using specific examples from CALGB studies.