BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Patients over 65 with the most malignant form of brain cancer -- glioblastoma -- should still get radiation therapy, French researchers reported Wednesday.

    Doctors have not been sure about recommending radiation for older patients because glioblastoma usually kills it victims inside of a year.

    But a research team led Florence Keime-Guibert at the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris found 42 patients who simply received supportive care survived for an average of 17 weeks, which is typical for younger patients as well.

    Researchers also discovered 39 over-65 volunteers who received radiation therapy typically got an extra 12 weeks of life, a significant difference, although not as much as younger patients get with radiation treatment.

    "Only 22 to 36 percent of patients 65 years of age or older participate in trials for cancer therapy, even though they represent nearly 60 percent of the population with cancer," Lillian Siu of the University of Toronto wrote in a commentary.

    Both groups of elderly patients reported a similar quality of life, an important factor in determining whether to undertake aggressive care.

    The study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, is unusual because it focused on older patients.

    She said the results of clinical trials involving younger people should not be used as the basis for treating older people. Doctors should do more to enroll older patients in clinical trials, Siu said.

    (Agencies)