ASCO Presses for Inclusion of Older Adults in Research

ASCO recently presented a position statement  “Improving the Evidence Base for Treating Older Adults with Cancer.” With more than 60 percent of cancers in the United States occurring in people age 65 and older, the evidence base for treating older adults is sparse because they are underrepresented in clinical trials and trials designed specifically for them are rare. Developed by ASCO’s Cancer Research Committee, the organization call for five over-arching recommendations:

• Use clinical trials to improve the evidence base for treating older adults.

• Leverage research designs and infrastructure to improve the evidence base for treating older adults.

• Increase Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to incentivize and require research on older adults with cancer.

• Increase clinicians’ recruitment of older adults with cancer into clinical trials.

• Utilize journal policies to incentivize researchers to consistently report on the age distribution and health risk profiles of research participants.

Read the full release here.