A Look at Age as a Prognostic Factor in Older Adults with Cancer and Neurological Complications
Keywords:
older adult; cancer; advanced age; neurological complications; neurological emergencies; prognosis; mortality.Abstract
Introduction: The impact of advanced age on the prognosis of patients with cancer and neurological complications admitted to the Intensive Care Unit is a subject of ongoing research and controversy.
Objective: To describe key aspects regarding age as a prognostic factor in older adults with cancer and neurological complications.
Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted using major search engines and biomedical databases. Forty-one articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected.
Results: Advanced age in patients frequently serves as a significant factor leading physicians, family members, and even the patients themselves to decline admission to intensive care. However, available evidence suggests that age, in and of itself, does not constitute a prognostic factor. The burden of comorbidities, such as cancer, has been identified in published studies as one of the primary predictors of mortality. In older adults with cancer, the pathophysiological burden impacting the prognosis of a complication is substantial; the outcome depends not only on the effect of malignancy itself but also on the impact upon a brain rendered vulnerable by cellular senescence within the cerebral tissue.
Conclusions: Advanced age does not constitute a barrier to neurocritical care for patients with cancer. However, the literature supporting this evidence remains scarce to date, requiring deeper understanding of the pathophysiological interplay among advanced age, cancer, associated neurological complications, and prognosis.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ariel Sosa Remón, Ana Esperanza Jerez Álvarez , Miguel Emilio García Rodríguez , Jhossmar Cristians Auza-Santivañez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The Cuban Journal of Medicine protects the author's patrimonial rights. However, it is licensed under a Creative Commons Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es_ES which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the primary source of publication is duly cited. The author always retains his moral rights.
You are free to:
- Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt - remix, transform and build upon the material
- The license cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the terms of the license.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution - You must give proper credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes have been made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in such a way as to suggest that you or your use is supported by the licensor.
- Non-Commercial Purpose- You may not make use of the material for commercial purposes.
- No Additional Restrictions - You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from making any use permitted by the license.
