The number of elderly patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) is contin
uously increasing. The diagnostic and staging procedures should be carried
out in elderly patients as careful as in younger patients. Furthermore, for
treatment decisions geriatric assessment and the patient's preferences con
cerning therapy are essential and have to be considered. The treatment of i
ndolent NHL depends on the stage of the disease and the clinical status of
the patient. Most of the patients with limited indolent NHL can be treated
with curative intent using localized irradiation. Treatment of patients wit
h advanced indolent NHL is palliative. In contrast, all stages of aggressiv
e NHL can also be treated with curative intent in elderly patients. In limi
ted aggressive NHL standard treatment consists of polychemotherapy followed
by involved field irradiation. Standard treatment of advanced aggressive N
HL is polychemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and p
rednisone (CHOP). The goal for the near future is to improve perspectives f
or elderly patients with NHL. One way is to treat as many of these patients
as possible according to current standards. In the field of geriatric onco
logy, one of the questions we are often confronted with is the limitation o
f treatment, especially in frail patients. This issue is closely associated
with ethical considerations which are discussed in another paper.