A RETROSPECTIVE study from Ireland has confirmed that older adults with oesophageal cancer can safely undergo neoadjuvant chemoradiation, achieving clinical outcomes comparable to those of younger patients.
The analysis reviewed data from 105 patients treated at Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre between 2015 and 2021. One-third of the patients were aged 70 or older—a group traditionally underrepresented in clinical trials, including the landmark CROSS trial, which had a median participant age of just 60.
Despite concerns over treatment tolerance in older individuals, the study found no significant difference in overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) between patients aged 70 and over and those under 70. Moreover, rates of severe neutropenia were comparable between groups—14% in the older group vs 10% in the younger group.
Surgery rates also remained high across both cohorts, with 80% of older patients and 86% of younger patients proceeding to surgical resection following chemoradiation.
As the global population ages, the number of older adults diagnosed with oesophageal cancer continues to rise. These findings provide reassurance that age alone should not be a barrier to curative treatment in well-selected patients.
Reference
McLaughlin RA et al. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation in older Irish adult patients with oesophageal cancer: a retrospective institutional review of clinical outcomes and hematological toxicity. BMC Cancer. 2025;DOI: 10.1186/s12885-025-14055-6.
