Geriatric oncology in tropical and developing countries

Abstract

Developing countries include countries with the lowest per capita gross national income in the world. The majority of these countries are located in tropical areas where cancers and hematological malignancies are generally characterized by frequent viral and microorganism origin, specific biology, advanced stage disease, and poor outcome. Access to treatment is generally resource-limited and must be adapted to resources. In these countries the population is still young, but in the next 20 years, the burden of aging will increase with less perinatal mortality and longer life expectancy, and the number of elderly cancer patients will thus become similar to the one in high-income countries. Principles of contemporary geriatric oncology are not always enforceable to patients from these areas: this is often due to cultural differences, different comorbidities, different socioeconomic environment, and a lack of geriatricians and health professional education. This chapter reflects the present knowledge in this field and discusses specificities and potential propositions for the future.