Abstract

The demographic shift toward an aging population has led to a dramatic rise in cancer incidence among older adults. Traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy presents unique challenges in geriatric patients due to frailty, comorbidities, and altered pharmacokinetics. In recent years, the advent of biological therapies, genetic approaches, immunotherapies—including immune checkpoint inhibitors—monoclonal antibodies, CAR T cell therapies, and therapeutic vaccines has revolutionized cancer management. The most common malignancies affecting the elderly include breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers, which are the primary focus of this review. These novel modalities offer the potential for improved efficacy and a more favorable toxicity profile, but their application in the elderly requires careful consideration of age-related physiological changes, functional status, and geriatric syndromes. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of these new treatments on elderly cancer patients, discussing their mechanisms, indications in common malignancies, clinical outcomes, toxicity profiles, and future directions for geriatric oncology.

Keywords

older adults,landscape, novel cancer therapies,medical, functional, psychological, cancer therapies, geriatric assessment