Geriatric assessment and management reduces toxic effects of cancer treatment in elderly: Lancet

USA: A recent study reported in the journal The Lancet found that a geriatric assessment for older patients with advanced cancer may reduce the serious toxic effects fro cancer treatment. The findings suggest that the clinical care of older patients with advanced cancer and aging-related conditions must include geriatric assessment with management. 

Older adults with advanced cancer are known to be at a higher risk for toxic effects of cancer treatment. Geriatric assessment evaluates aging-related domains and guides management. Prof Supriya G Mohile, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA, and colleagues examined whether a geriatric assessment intervention can reduce serious toxic effects in older patients with advanced cancer who are receiving high-risk treatment (eg, chemotherapy) in a cluster-randomized trial. 

The study enrolled patients aged 70 years and older with incurable solid tumors or lymphoma and at least one impaired geriatric assessment domain who were starting a new treatment regimen. 40 community oncology practice clusters across the USA were randomly assigned to the intervention (oncologists received a tailored geriatric assessment summary and management recommendations) or usual care (no geriatric assessment summary or management recommendations were provided to oncologists).