Speaking to ecancer at the 13th Conference of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology in Copenhagen, which took place from 24 to 26 October 2013, Prof William Dale, from the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, USA, gives his views on the current treatment options for older patients with prostate cancer, including newer androgen ablation therapies now available.

Prof Dale speaks about the challenges of managing older compared with younger patients, and outlines the best ways to deal with the side effects of medication in older patients.

He also gives his views on ways in which to optimise the patient’s treatment pathway, including ‘prehabilitation’ techniques to prepare them for treatment, and ways to prevent the acceleration of osteoporosis during treatment.

Prof Dale also discusses the impact of radium-233, a new and exciting treatment option which has recently been shown to improve survival in prostate cancer patients.

Finally, he highlights the benefits of the new androgen ablation therapies in terms of their impact on patients’ quality of life, and the practicalities of oral administration versus conventional intravenous chemotherapy infusion.

This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).