Lenvatinib administration for elderly patients (over 80 years old) with advanced thyroid cancer

When treating advanced thyroid cancer cases with Lenvatinib, most of these patients are old and we sometimes hesitate to administer the drug to elderly cases. We have experienced administering low-dose Lenvatinib to aging patients who were over 80 years old. The first case was a 92-year-old man. He was administered 10mg of Lenvatinib at the outpatient clinic, could continue the treatment without serious side effects, and maintained PR for one year. The second case was an 86-year-old female. She had an obstructed airway due to tumor invasion. Due to her poor general condition, we decided to start with 4 mg of Lenvatinib. The trachea-invading tumor shrank, and she was able to stay at home, but eventually died when the tumor progressed. Low-dose Lenvatinib administration was shown to be tolerated and to reduce side effects even in the elderly. This treatment, however, may have insufficient antitumor effects. The organ function, social status, and living environment of older adults are varied, so we should decide the administration dose and method according to the condition of each case.