Questionnaires and instruments for a multidimensional assessment of the older cancer patient: What clinicians need to know?

• Published in: European journal of cancer (1990) Vol. 46; no. 6; pp. 1019 - 1025
• Main Authors: Pallis, A.G, Wedding, U, Lacombe, D, Soubeyran, P, Wildiers, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition; Comorbidity; Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Female; Functional status; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Geriatric oncology; Health Status Indicators; Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Neoplasms - diagnosis; Neoplasms - psychology; Neoplasms - therapy; Nutritional status; Older; Patient Care Planning; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychological status; Quality of Life - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors; Functional status; Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Comorbidity; Cognition; Psychological status; Geriatric oncology; Nutritional status; Older; Human; Questionnaire; Instruments; Malignant tumor; Comprehensive geriatric; Functional capacity; assessment; Concomitant disease; Cancerology; Elderly; Age; Cancer; Geriatrics
• ISSN: 0959-8049; 1879-0852
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2010.01.006

Abstract Due to the ageing of the population in the Western world, a significant increase in the number of older patients diagnosed with neoplastic diseases is observed. Hence, there is an emerging need for tools to efficiently evaluate older patients’ functional and global status. These tools can allow treating oncologists to better select patients, to propose treatment modifications, implement supportive measures and develop interventions to decrease the risk of toxicity and in general better tailor the treatment plan on an individual level. Currently significant uncertainty exists about the optimal tools and strategy for geriatric assessment, but on the other hand there is more than enough evidence that (some form of) geriatric assessment detects many previously unrecognised problems, and allows directed intervention which can improve outcome and compliance of proposed treatments. In the present paper, we discuss the most commonly used and studied tools for the assessment of functional status of older cancer patients.