This study compared disease outcomes, treatments, and dose reductions in patients undergoing first-line treatment with targeted therapy or immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (immunotherapy) for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) according to age.

Patients aged ≥75 years had a longer time from diagnosis to start of treatment with targeted therapy than those aged <65 years and 65-74 years (9.7 months compared with 1.3 and 3.4 months, respectively). Older patients received lower doses of targeted therapy and fewer treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors compared with younger patients. More patients aged ≥75 years had a reduction in dose or a dose interruption (75%) compared with those aged 65-74 years (55%) and those aged <65 years (41%). Despite this, the median overall survival from the start of first-line treatment was 14.3 months, with no significant difference based on the age group.

Older patients receiving treatment for metastatic RCC are more prone to side effects and may benefit from a reduction in dose or treatment interruption based on the side effects. However, this should not preclude patients from treatment as survival was not affected by these changes.

Read more in the Journal or Geriatric Oncology here