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Developing a cancer-specific geriatric assessment†

A feasibility study

  1. Arti Hurria M.D.1,‡,§,*,
  2. Supriya Gupta M.D.2,
  3. Marjorie Zauderer M.S.3,
  4. Enid L. Zuckerman L.M.S.W., M.A.1,
  5. Harvey J. Cohen M.D.4,
  6. Hyman Muss M.D.5,
  7. Miriam Rodin M.D., Ph.D.2,
  8. Katherine S. Panageas Dr.P.H.1,
  9. Jimmie C. Holland M.D.1,
  10. Leonard Saltz M.D.1,
  11. Mark G. Kris M.D.1,
  12. Ariela Noy M.D.1,
  13. Jorge Gomez M.D.1,
  14. Ann Jakubowski M.D., Ph.D.1,
  15. Clifford Hudis M.D.1,
  16. Alice B. Kornblith Ph.D.6

Article first published online: 4 OCT 2005

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.21422

Issue

Cancer

Cancer

Volume 104, Issue 9, pages 1998–2005, 1 November 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

Hurria, A., Gupta, S., Zauderer, M., Zuckerman, E. L., Cohen, H. J., Muss, H., Rodin, M., Panageas, K. S., Holland, J. C., Saltz, L., Kris, M. G., Noy, A., Gomez, J., Jakubowski, A., Hudis, C. and Kornblith, A. B. (2005), Developing a cancer-specific geriatric assessment. Cancer, 104: 1998–2005. doi: 10.1002/cncr.21422

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

  2. 2

    Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

  3. 3

    College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York

  4. 4

    Center for the Study of Aging, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

  5. 5

    Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

  6. 6

    Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

  1. ‡

    During the current study, Dr. Hurria's salary was supported by the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award and the American Federation for Aging Research.

  2. §

    Fax: (212) 717-3821

*Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021

  1. †

    Presented at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 5–8, 2004.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 17 OCT 2005
  2. Article first published online: 4 OCT 2005
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 16 MAY 2005
  4. Manuscript Revised: 23 MAR 2005
  5. Manuscript Received: 13 DEC 2004

Funded by

  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Patrick Byrne Research Fund
  • MSKCC NIH P20

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Keywords:

  • geriatric assessment;
  • older patient;
  • chemotherapy

As the population ages, there is an emerging need to develop a means for oncologists to characterize the “functional age” of older patients with cancer in order to tailor treatment decisions and stratify outcomes based on factors other than chronologic age and to develop interventions to optimize cancer treatment. The authors developed a brief, yet comprehensive, primarily self-administered cancer-specific geriatric assessment.

Abstract

BACKGROUND

As the U.S. population ages, there is an emerging need to characterize the “functional age” of older patients with cancer to tailor treatment decisions and stratify outcomes based on factors other than chronologic age. The goals of the current study were to develop a brief, but comprehensive, primarily self-administered cancer-specific geriatric assessment measure and to determine its feasibility as measured by 1) the percentage of patients able to complete the measure on their own, 2) the length of time to complete, and 3) patient satisfaction with the measure.

METHODS

The geriatric and oncology literature was reviewed to choose validated measures of geriatric assessment across the following domains: functional status, comorbidity, cognition, psychological status, social functioning and support, and nutritional status. Criteria applied to geriatric assessment measurements included reliability, validity, brevity, and ability to self-administer. The measure was administered to patients with breast carcinoma, lung carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, or lymphoma who were fluent in English and receiving chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) or the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL).

RESULTS

The instrument was completed by 43 patients (mean age, 74 yrs; range, 65–87 yrs). The majority had AJCC Stage IV disease (68%). The mean time to completion of the assessment was 27 minutes (range, 8–45 mins). Most patients were able to complete the self-administered portion of the assessment without assistance (78%) and were satisfied with the questionnaire length (90%). There was no association noted between age (P = 0.56) or educational level (P = 0.99) and the ability to complete the assessment without assistance.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort, this brief but comprehensive geriatric assessment could be completed by the majority of patients without assistance. Prospective trials of its generalizability, reliability, and validity are justified. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

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