A one-size-fits-all approach—in which advanced age, health status, functional status, and prognosis are not associated with intensiveness of treatment—appears to guide treatment for keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), a generally nonfatal condition, a recent study found. In order to determine whether life expectancy influences treatment pattern of nonmelanoma skin cancer, or KC, researchers examined data from treatments for individuals aged ≥65 years (n=2,702) for basal or squamous cell carcinoma between 1992 and 2012. They found:

• Most KCs (61%) were treated surgically.

• Rates of Mohs micrographic surgery (19%), excision (42%), and electrodesiccation and curettage (39%) were no different in participants with limited life expectancy and those with normal life expectancy.

• Participants who died within 1 year of diagnosis were treated in the same way as those who lived longer.

Citation: Linos E, Chren MM, Stijacic CI, Covinsky KE. Skin cancer in US elderly adults: Does life expectancy play a role in treatment decisions? [Published online ahead of print June 15, 2016]. J Am Geriatr Soc. doi:10.1111/jgs.14202.