Malignant lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myeloproliferative diseases in the elderly

Abstract

Hematopoietic and immune function tend to deteriorate in the elderly. The incidence of hematologic diseases in the elderly is increasing as the percentage of elderly people in the whole population increases. Acute leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, malignant lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndromes are commonly seen in the elderly. Malignant lymphomas are frequently seen in the elderly, and many elderly patients have poor performance status, and because they are more likely to suffer from impaired cardiac, respiratory, hepatic and renal function, as well as glucose intolerance, they are also more likely to suffer side effects due to chemotherapy. Particularly in patients aged over 80 years, to avoid side effects it is essential to adjust dosage and route of administration of chemotherapy. Although age is a significant negative prognostic factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it is possible for patients to enter complete remission with improvement of host-side factors. The clinical application of Rituximab is expected to improve chemotherapy outcomes in elderly B-cell lymphoma. The median age at the time of initial diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM) is 60-70 years, and age is a negative prognostic factor. Clinically, higher rates of infection and heavy comorbidity are characteristic of this condition in the elderly. Although the incidence of bony lesions in elderly patients with MM is not different from the non-elderly, they do have a higher incidence of bone pain and pathologic fractures compared with the non-elderly patients. As the response to chemotherapy is good in the elderly, it is worth trying chemotherapy for MM. Polycythemia vera must be treated in the elderly, because chemotherapy decreases the incidence of thrombosis.