Effect of age on response to palliative radiotherapy and quality of life in patients with painful bone metastases

Background: Multimorbidity and declining performance in elderly cancer patients may result in less treatment benefit. We investigated whether age is a predictor for pain response and quality of life (QoL) after radiotherapy in patients with painful bone metastases. Methods: The database of the Dutch Bone Metastasis Study was used (1996–1999). 1157 patients, irradiated for painful bone metastases, rated their pain, QoL-domains and overall health at baseline and during follow-up. Response was calculated taking into account changes in pain score and medication. Patients were grouped into three age cohorts: A: <65 (n = 520), B: 65–74 (n = 410) and C: ⩾75 years (n = 227). Results: No significant difference existed in pain response between cohorts: 78% in cohort A, 74% in B and 67% in C. When assessing baseline QoL, a significant difference in activity level was noticed, with more impairment in elderly compared to younger patients (C versus B (p = 0.01), C versus A (p < 0.001)). Other QoL-domains were similar at baseline and during follow-up among cohorts. A pain response was significantly associated with improvement of health-related QoL (OR 3.74, 95% CI 2.66–5.25). Conclusion: The majority of elderly patients with painful bone metastases responded to radiotherapy and showed comparable overall QoL compared to their younger counterparts. Age is not a predictor for pain response or QoL