Efficacy, compliance and prognostic significance of a comprehensive geriatric assessment in the geriatric cancer patient = Efficacia, applicabilità e significato prognostico di una valutazione geriatrica multidimensionale nel paziente oncologico anziano

In the geriatric cancer patient, it seems to be very important to nake a global clinical assessment and a multidimensional and multispecialistic evaluation. Advanced age alone is not a sufficient reason to exclude an effective treatment which could improve quality of life as well as survival of these patients, however the presence of specific conditions linked to age such as concomitant diseases, geriatric syndromes, poor nutritional status, poor socio-economic conditions can increase the risk of complications due to antineoplastic treatment. The aim of the present study is to create an effective evaluation instrument for Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in oncology. To achieve this aim we have evaluated the following points: the consistency of the instruments chosen for the constitution of CGA; their efficacy as single instruments as well as their efficacy when used together to explore the principal areas which are typical of the geriatric sphere in oncology; geriatric cancer patient compliance; the possible prognostic and predictive significance of the CGA at the time of diagnosis and at regular intervals.