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Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Cancer Patients

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Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment

Part of the book series: Practical Issues in Geriatrics ((PIG))

Abstract

Approximately 60% of cancers are diagnosed in patients 65 years and older. Older patients with cancer represent therapeutic challenges because they are a heterogenous population with various combinations of comorbidities, organ-specific physiologic changes, disabilities, and geriatric syndromes. Scientific societies recommend a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to detect multidomain health problems potentially associated with adverse outcomes, to guide decision-making about cancer treatments, and to introduce interventions effective for health issues that may be reversible. Based on validated tools, CGA is used to systematically assess functional, nutritional, cognitive, emotional, and social status as well as comorbidities in patients. It allows for (1) detecting numerous unrecognized health problems existing in parallel with the cancer, (2) implementing tailored and individualized geriatric interventions effective for health problems that may be reversible, (3) identifying geriatric factors and comorbidities competing with the cancer in terms of mortality risk, and (4) identifying geriatric prognostic factors in terms of treatment feasibility and toxicity risk. Thus, CGA can help oncologists identify older patients with cancer who could benefit from optimal anticancer treatment and those who could benefit from adapted treatment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Gériatrie, Unité de Coordination en Onco-Gériatrique, Hôpital Henri-Mondor, APHP, F94000, Créteil, France

    Philippe Caillet & Elena Paillaud

  2. Université Paris Est, A-TVB DHU, Clinical Epidemiology of Ageing (CEpiA) EA4393, F94010, Créteil, France

    Philippe Caillet & Elena Paillaud

  3. Unité de Coordination en Onco-Gériatrie, Hôpital Avicenne, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Paris Seine Saint Denis (HU PSSD, APHP), F93000, Bobigny, France

    Frederic Pamoukdjian

  4. Service de Médecine Gériatrique, Hôpital Avicenne, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Paris Seine Saint Denis (HU PSSD, APHP), F93000, Bobigny, France

    Frederic Pamoukdjian

  5. Département de Médecine Interne et de Gériatrie, Université Paris Est-Créteil, Groupe Hospitalier Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, 51 Avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France

    Anastaric Obraztsova

Authors
  1. Philippe Caillet
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  2. Frederic Pamoukdjian
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  3. Anastaric Obraztsova
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  4. Elena Paillaud
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elena Paillaud .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatric Care, Orthogeriatrics and Rehab, Ospedali Galliera, Genoa, Italy

    Alberto Pilotto

  2. Dept. of Aging and Health, St. Thomas Hospital, London, United Kingdom

    Finbarr C. Martin

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Caillet, P., Pamoukdjian, F., Obraztsova, A., Paillaud, E. (2018). Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Cancer Patients. In: Pilotto, A., Martin, F. (eds) Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. Practical Issues in Geriatrics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62503-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62503-4_10

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