ABSTRACT
Immunological function declines with age, as do most physiological functions. As the reader will find by perusing other chapters in this volume, the incidence of many malignancies increases with increasing age, with greater associated mortality in adults over 65. At the same time, the invasive characteristics of many cancers are often different in old adults compared with young adults. Are the age-related changes in immunity responsible, at least in part, for the changing epidemiology of malignancy with increasing age? This chapter will give a basic outline of the immune system, and then describe changes in the system attributed to aging.
