Optimal management of renal cell carcinoma in the elderly: a review

Both the aging population and the incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are growing, making the question of tumor management in the elderly a real challenge. Doctors should be aware of the importance of assessing this specific subpopulation. An aggressive therapeutic approach may be balanced by the benefit of the treatment — care or cure — and the life expectancy and willingness of the patient. The treatment for local disease can be surgery (radical or partial nephrectomy) or ablative therapies (radiofrequency, cryotherapy). Even if in most cases surgery is safe, complications such as alteration of renal function may occur, especially in the elderly, with physiological renal impairment at baseline. More recently, another option has been developed as an alternative: active surveillance. In the past decade, new drugs have been approved in the metastatic setting. All the phase 3 trials have included patients without a limit on age. Nevertheless, data concerning the elderly are still poor and concern only a very selective subpopulation. The toxicity profile of targeted agents may interfere with pre-existent comorbidities. Furthermore, the metabolism of several agents via cytochrome P450 can cause drug interaction. The importance of quality of life is a major factor with regard to management of therapy. Finally, to date, there is no recommendation of systematic a priori dose reduction in the elderly. In this review we describe the various possibilities of treatment for localized RCC or metastatic RCC in an aging population.