Metastatic Melanoma in the Older Patient

Authors and Disclosures

Upendra P Hegde^†1, Nitya Chakraborty¹, Bijay Mukherji¹ and Jane M Grant Kels<sup>1

1</sup>University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA

^†Author for correspondence
Tel.: +1 860 679 4754 Fax: +1 860 679 4451 uhegde@uchc.edu

Sidebar

Key Issues

• The elderly population is the most rapidly expanding segment of the population that is at risk of developing cancer in general and cutaneous melanoma (CM) in particular and is at risk of dying from this cancer.

• Since aging is associated with weakening of the immune system and melanoma is an immunogenic tumor, age-associated weakening of the immune system is believed to contribute to the increasing melanoma incidence and mortality rate.

• Older age is a poor prognostic factor for CM, but the prognostic impact of older age in patients with metastatic melanoma is not yet clear.

• Although patients with metastatic melanoma fare poorly, we have observed presentation of either an indolent course or dramatic responses to chemotherapeutic agents in some elderly patients with metastatic melanoma.

• Although aging causes generalized weakening of the components of the immune system, imbalances between the components of the immune system are believed to be relevant in determining natural history and outcomes of older melanoma patients following treatment.

• Immune-based treatment strategies continue to play a critical role in the development of promising new treatments for patients with CM.

• Deeper insights into aging-associated changes in the immune system will allow promising new immune therapies to be adapted to the elderly population.