Application of green treatment in older patients with cancer

With the aging of the population, the proportion of older patients with cancer is increasing. The treatment of older patients with cancer is challenging owing to frailty, comorbidities, and the exclusion from most clinical studies. Green therapy, using low-injury, sustainable, repeatable, and individualized treatment methods—such as minimally invasive surgery and traditional Chinese medicine—provides a new option for patients with cancer who are intolerant or have failed in conventional treatment. This article summarizes the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive surgery, such as radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, cryoablation, and vascular interventional therapy, in older patients with tumors, as well as external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical practice to provide a basis for green treatment of tumors. Prospective clinical trials should be performed on older patients with cancer to provide high-level evidence-based medical evidence for the treatment of these patients. Furthermore, a clinical prediction model of green treatment based on real-world data should be constructed for older patients with cancer to provide a foundation for clinical medical decision-making. Basic researches should be conducted to explore the mechanism of green tumor treatment.