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Wound healing in older oncologic patients
Affiliations- Department of General, Gastrointestinal, Oncologic Surgery and Transplantology, I Chair of General Surgery, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
open access
Abstract
The wound itself, along with lymphatic oedema, nausea and vomiting, fatigue and psychological stress, is listed as one of the five factors most negatively influencing cancer patients. Current oncologic treatment strategies are based on multimodal protocols including surgery, radiation and chemotherapeutic regimens. Thus, in oncology we can have a patient with a surgical wound, a wound that is a complication from radio- or chemotherapy, or a wound due to cancer progression. With increasing age, skin functions deteriorate due to the quantitative and qualitative changes of skin cells. Despite this, it seems that wound healing in healthy older patients is only delayed, but not completely defective. This effect is clinically apparent by the age of 60 and becomes significant at the age of 70. In turn, scar maturation improves in comparison with young individuals. However, the skin alone is more susceptible to injury in older patients. As older patients are qualified for complex oncologic treatment more and more often, wound healing in older cancer patients has become a matter of critical importance.
Abstract
The wound itself, along with lymphatic oedema, nausea and vomiting, fatigue and psychological stress, is listed as one of the five factors most negatively influencing cancer patients. Current oncologic treatment strategies are based on multimodal protocols including surgery, radiation and chemotherapeutic regimens. Thus, in oncology we can have a patient with a surgical wound, a wound that is a complication from radio- or chemotherapy, or a wound due to cancer progression. With increasing age, skin functions deteriorate due to the quantitative and qualitative changes of skin cells. Despite this, it seems that wound healing in healthy older patients is only delayed, but not completely defective. This effect is clinically apparent by the age of 60 and becomes significant at the age of 70. In turn, scar maturation improves in comparison with young individuals. However, the skin alone is more susceptible to injury in older patients. As older patients are qualified for complex oncologic treatment more and more often, wound healing in older cancer patients has become a matter of critical importance.
Keywords
older oncologic patients; elderly; wound healing
About this articleTitle
Wound healing in older oncologic patients
Journal
Nowotwory. Journal of Oncology
Issue
Article type
Review paper
Pages
49-51
Published online
2021-02-05
Page views
643
Article views/downloads
511
DOI
Bibliographic record
Nowotwory. Journal of Oncology 2021;71(1):49-51.
Keywords
older oncologic patients
elderly
wound healing
Authors
Jakub Kenig
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