Incorporating objective biomarkers of functional age could potentially better predict which elderly adults could tolerate cancer treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Such a measurement could identify those patients most at risk from side effects of cancer treatment, including increased toxicity, functional decline, decreased quality of life, and ultimately, poorer survival. Elderly patients, the authors say, are quite heterogeneous in their physical ability to tolerate cancer therapy, but standard methods are lacking to assess this risk, as chronological age and comorbidities are not adequate determinants. In a review published Aug. 20, the authors evaluate potential biologic markers of functional aging, including chronic inflammatory markers and markers of cellular senescence. The most studied markers are those of chronic, systemic inflammation (including C-reactive protein [CRP], tumor necrosis factor-α, and D-dimer). They are compelling because of their ease of measurement, although potentially not “ideal markers” because they are not independent of the pathology of cancer. A variety of studies have tied these markers to acceleration of the aging process, exacerbation of age-related diseases, as well as an association with clinical measures of frailty, functional decline, and a heightened risk of mortality. “Several chronic inflammatory markers (interlukin-6, D-dimer, […]