Older adults form a significant chunk of the patient population in India. The normal retirement age from Government service in India is 60 years, so the cut-off defining geriatric or older population is considered 60 years and above. The increase in life expectancy over the years has increased the relative population of the older adults. While the overall population of India is slated to grow by 40% between 2006 and 2050, the population of those aged 60 and above is likely to increase by 270%. The share of the population over the age of 60 is projected to increase from 8 per cent to nearly 20 per cent in 2050.

Incidence of cancer increases with ageing. Thus, with the greying of the population, it is expected that a greater number of older people will be diagnosed with malignancies. Older patients with malignancies face various challenges due to co-morbidities and other age related issues and need special care. It has been observed that there is a lower survival rate in this population and more than half of all cancer deaths are in patients above the age of 70 years.

In India, the diagnosis of cancer is generally done at a very late stage due to a lack of awareness. In older adults, diagnosis is further delayed resulting from confusion due to overlapping of general symptoms and signs of ageing and cancer and lack of awareness regarding geriatric issues. A dedicated group to explore the problems faced by the older cancer patients in India and develop care protocols for this group which can focus on treatment and enhancement of QoL is the need of the hour. The SIOG India group aims to develop programmes aligned with recommendations from the Indian Government to extend support to stakeholder, government and private institutions and healthcare workers in different echelons in India to increase awareness in the area of geriatric oncology.

Contact the SIOG Head Office

Meetings

The SIOG Country Group – India meets regularly online (zoom meetings) during the year.

For access to the meeting dates, agenda, other documentation, please contact the SIOG Head Office.

Contact the SIOG Head Office

Member List

Co-Chairs:
Ravi Mehrotra
Joyita Banerjee

Members:
Imtiaz Ahmed
Sameeksha Dubey
Arun Kumar Goel
Prem Narasimhan
Suzanne Tanya Nethan
Anupa Pillai
Mukul Roy
Rajat Saha
Kanika Sood
Deepak Sundriyal