Critical reviews in oncology/hematology
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Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol. · Sep 2000
ReviewThe application of the principles of geriatrics to the management of the older person with cancer.
Is the patient going to die of cancer or with cancer? Is the patient going to suffer pain and disability due to cancer? Is the patient able to tolerate aggressive life-prolonging treatment? This paper tries to reply to the fundamentals of these questions by introducing the multidimensional assessment that evaluates areas where age-related changes are more likely. Chronologic age cannot be used to predict the degree of comorbidity and of functional deterioration of the single individual up to age 85 at least. Assessment of aging includes health, functional status, nutrition, cognition, socio-economic and emotion evaluations. ⋯ The risk of polypharmacy increases with age and partly results from the fact that older patients visit different practitioners. A CGA should also include evaluation of the so called Geriatric Syndromes like delirium, incontinence, osteoporosis, all of which represent a hallmark of frailty. The CGA may help the management of older individuals with cancer in at least three areas: detection of frailty, treatment of unsuspected conditions, removal of social barrier to treatment.