[The Risk Factors of Cancer Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients].

The aging rate in Japan is the highest in the world, and it is entering a very aging society that has never happened before. The first cause of death is a malignant neoplasm, and opportunities of the treatment for elderly cancer patients are rapidly increasing. The elderly have increased chronic diseases and complications with aging, and the adverse event in medication therapy also increases. Also, the form of medical provision is diversified, home medical care and nursing care are recommended. Therefore, it is important to appreciate the various aspects including psychophysiological, living, social aspects in addition to changes in physical function caused by aging and appropriately evaluate them, for selecting treatment methods in elderly cancer patients. Geriatric assessment(GA)is recommended for this evaluation, and it is expected to contribute to improvement of treatment outcome and quality of life(QOL). In this article, we will outline the role of aged general comprehensive functional evaluation in elderly cancer treatment and the problems of chemotherapy in the elderly.