Age is no obstacle to aggressive cervical cancer treatment

An expert involved in a study by the Washington University states that traditionally, older women were less likely to have their invasive cervical carcinoma's treated aggressively. Therefore, older women tend to have higher mortality rates from the disease than younger women. Older women were 9 times more likely than younger women to have no treatment at all. However, study findings that indicate that older women actually cope very well with aggressive radiation treatment and radical hysterectomies and thus they should be given this option. Thus, elderly patients and their physicians should be encouraged to consider more aggressive treatment despite the age factor. A review of hospital records showed that 54% of patients with cervical cancer under 70 years had surgery compared to only 16% of those over 70.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by Reuters Health

Related Disease Topics:

• Cervical cancer
• Cervical carcinoma (see Cervix symptoms)
• Hysterectomy

Article Source Details

About: Age is no obstacle to aggressive cervical cancer treatment

Date: 30 January 2005

Source: Reuters Health

Author: Anne Harding

URL: http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7471392

Related Medical Topics

This summary article refers to the following medical categories:

• Cancer
• Death from cervical cancer
• Death from cervical carcinoma
• Death from hysterectomy
• Research and cervical cancer
• Research and cervical carcinoma
• Research and hysterectomy
• Surgery and cervical cancer
• Surgery and cervical carcinoma
• Surgery and hysterectomy

More News Topics

Search Specialists by State and City