Cancer, Its Treatment, and Accelerated Aging

February 28, 2017
Greg Guthrie, ASCO staff

The ASCO Educational Book is a collection of articles written by ASCO Annual Meeting speakers and oncology experts. Published annually, each volume highlights the most compelling research and developments across the multidisciplinary fields of oncology such as surgery, radiation, symptom management, health services research, international perspectives, and immunology, among other topics.

Arti Hurria, MD, is the Director of the Cancer and Aging Research Program at City of Hope. Lee Jones, PhD, is a medical researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Hyman Muss, MD, is the Director of the Geriatric Oncology Program at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Program.

Researchers are uncovering more evidence that cancer and its treatment are associated with accelerated aging. share on twitter This means that cancer survivors may experience the signs of aging earlier in life or in a way that is different from what is normally expected. Meanwhile, as treatments for cancer continue to improve, more people are surviving their diagnosis and living longer. Therefore, a key issue for older adults with cancer is recognizing and treating the effects that cancer treatment has on the aging process both now and in later years.

In this podcast, Drs. Hurria, Jones, and Muss discuss the current evidence surrounding accelerated aging in cancer and cancer treatment. They also talk about what oncology professionals are doing to identify, treat, and prevent it.

Major Discussion Points

  • What is accelerated aging and what does it mean for survivors? [2:40]

  • How can doctors detect accelerated aging? [4:00]

  • In what ways does cancer treatment make someone more likely to experience accelerated aging? [5:48]

  • What is being done to avoid these treatment side effects? [7:49]

  • What can survivors do to reduce the effects of accelerated aging? [9:23]

This is a prerecorded audio podcast. It can be listened to online or downloaded to your computer. A transcript of this podcast is also available. For more information, visit the Cancer.Net podcast page.

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