Chronological Change in Ferquency of Cancer Patients Aged 60 Years or More in a University Hospital

Kim, Chang Sick; Kim, Byung Sung; Lee, Jae Young; Yang, Dong Hoon; Choi, Hyun Rim

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Owing to increase in elderly population, the importance of geriatric health is accentuated strongly. We surveyed cancer patients aged 60 years or more to investigate the common cancers, time trend to compare with whole cancer patients.
METHODS
We analyzed the data of cancer patients aged 60 years or more who were admitted cancer patients, diagnosed by pathologic biopsy, received radiotherapy, registered as cancer patients on death certification and diagnosed by the other methods in a university hospital from January, 1987 to December, 1995.
RESULTS
We analyzed at intervals of three year, from 1987 to 1989. The order of common cancer sites were stomach(30.1% ), lung(19.9% ), liver and intrahepatic(11.4% ), bladder (6.2% ), colon(5.5% ), gallbladder and extrahepatic(4.9%), rectosigmoid(4.2% ), pancreas (3.2%), cervix(2.9%), esophagus(2.8%) and the number of patients was 1025. From 1990 to 1992, the order of common cancer sites were stomach(23.5%), lung(19.3% ), liver and intrahepatic(10.3% ), gallbladder and extrahepatic(4.4% ), rectosigmoid(4.2% ), pancreas (3.9%), cervix(3.7%), colon(3.5% ), esophagus(2.7%) and the number of patients was 1470. From 1993 to 1995, the order of common cancer sites were stomach(19.5%), lung(17.2%), liver and intrahepatic(11% ), rectosigmoid(5.1% ), colon(4.5% ), gallbladder and extrahepatic(4.5% ), bladder(4.1% ), cervix (3.8% ), pancreas(3.7% ), esophagus(2.0% ) and the number of patients was 1519.
CONCLUSIONS
Stomach, lung, and hepatic cancers were decreasing and rectosigmoid and pancreatic cancers were increasing in triannual frequency of cancer patients aged 60 years or more, The proportion of elderly patients in all age cancer patients was increasing except gallbladder and extrahepatic cancer. According to the prolongation of life span, cancer frequency increased in old age.