 |
       |
|
|
TWO RELATIVELY BENIGN CANCERS DETECTED INCIDENTALLY IN ELDERLY POPULATION
OP Kapoor
Ex. Hon. Physician, Jaslok Hospital and Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Ex. Hon. Prof. of Medicine, Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital, Mumbai 400 008.
A health check up of an elderly patient over 60 years of age should include clinical examination of the lymph glands all over the body and examination of the prostate in a male. In fact, routine blood count and blood test for PSA (prostatic surface antigen) is a must.
The incidence of cancer of the prostate increases dramatically with age. By the age of 80, 80% of the patients have prostatic cancer. This is picked up by blood PSA level and confirmed by multi-segment prostatic biopsy. However, this is a very benign cancer and most of the patients live happily with or without hormone treatment (depending on the age of the patient) and die, with the cancer and not due to the cancer, often from unrelated cardiac illness, a stroke or a fracture.
Chronic lymphatic leukaemia becomes much more common after the age of 60. It is detected clinically by palpation of the lymph glands and confirmed by routine blood count. If the patient has no enlarged spleen or any glands in the chest or abdomen, and the routine blood count and the platelet count are normal, these patients can live happily for a number of years without any treatment. However, the prognosis of this illness is not as good as prostatic cancer and only 20-30% of these patients die due to some other unrelated illness.
 |