With the growth of the aging population, the incidence of geriatric tumors is increasing year by year.
However, geriatric tumors have their own unique physiological and pathological characteristics, which are different from young people in terms of pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis and so on.
First, the incidence is high.
For example, gastric cancer is more common in people aged 40-70, ovarian cancer is more common in women over 50 years old, and cervical cancer is more common in people aged 40-50, with 60-70 years old being the second peak.
Studies have shown that with the increase of age, the incidence of cancer will gradually increase, so the number of elderly cancer patients is large, and the study of the characteristics of elderly cancer patients has extremely practical significance.
Second, the progression of the disease is relatively slow.
In the elderly, due to the gradual decline of physical function, the metabolism is weakened, and the growth rate of tumors is relatively low.
The pathological types of tumors in the elderly are mostly moderately and highly differentiated, with a low degree of malignancy and a slower development rate than that of young people.
Studies have shown that the doubling time of malignant tumors in the elderly is prolonged with age.
Therefore, elderly cancer patients can get a longer time and survival.
3. Complication of multiple diseases.
Older people often suffer from a variety of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, coronary heart disease, etc.
In addition, the same organ may also suffer from different diseases at the same time, such as emphysema, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc.
There may be a certain conflict between some chronic diseases and malignant tumors, and it is necessary to conduct an overall evaluation and formulate a reasonable and safe plan in clinical practice.
Fourth, the clinical symptoms are mild.
The elderly have a decline in body function and are not sensitive to the perception of many symptoms, and the elderly often suffer from other chronic diseases, which have a variety of symptoms, and the symptoms caused by tumors are not typical.
Therefore, it is difficult for elderly cancer patients to detect malignant tumors at an early stage if they do not have regular physical examinations.
Fifth, there are few ways.
The elderly have a weak constitution, and strong tumor methods such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are difficult to tolerate, and the first regimen is conservative.
Clinically, it is commonly used in elderly patients in the following ways: targeting, immunization, traditional Chinese medicine, etc., which are lower and less damaging to the body.
6. Traditional Chinese medicine has obvious advantages.
Due to the influence of age, constitution, disease and other factors, elderly cancer patients often adopt a conservative approach, and traditional Chinese medicine has obvious advantages.
Traditional Chinese medicine** can significantly improve the decline of physical fitness caused by age, chronic diseases, and Western medicine** in patients.
Due to the influence of a variety of diseases, many and complex symptoms are also a characteristic of elderly cancer patients, traditional Chinese medicine can alleviate various symptoms of patients through syndrome differentiation and treatment, so as to improve the quality of life of patients.
Traditional Chinese medicine also has a certain anti-tumor effect, and it can achieve better results with Western medicine**, which helps to prolong the survival of patients.
The world is rapidly entering an aging society, and the aging situation in China is very severe, and the number of elderly cancer patients in China has ranked first in the world. Traditional Chinese medicine plays an increasingly important role in the development of tumors, especially in the development of elderly tumors. In the next issue, we will talk about the best program of geriatric tumors from the two aspects of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.