CLINICAL-TRIALS IN THE ELDERLY - SHOULD WE DO MORE

Much of the information on which treatment decisions are based in elde rly patients is derived from studies involving younger adults. The ben efit to risk ratio of any given intervention may be quite different in frail older patients with significant comorbidities, and the applicab ility of such study findings to routine geriatric medical practice is therefore limited. The recruitment of significant numbers of elderly p atients into trials is necessary to enable clinicians to make informed and rational therapeutic decisions in this expanding population.