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Geriatric Screening in Cancer Patients

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Geriatric Oncology

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Abstract

Cancer is primarily a disease of older persons. This older population with cancer is heterogeneous with respect to overall health status due to differences in the aging process. The performance of a multidimensional geriatric assessment is recommended in older patients with cancer to inventory health problems and tailor geriatric interventions and treatment decisions accordingly. This strategy however requires resources and may not be necessary in all older patients with cancer. Therefore the use of geriatric screening tools is proposed in order to identify those patients who would benefit from further evaluation by geriatric assessment and subsequent multidisciplinary approach. Several screening tools have been studied in geriatric oncology with different performance for various parameters such as sensitivity and specificity for detecting an impaired geriatric assessment and prognostic and predictive value for various outcome measures, depending on the setting. In clinical practice, the preferred screening tool may depend on the clinical situation. If the result is abnormal, a screening tool should always be followed by a geriatric assessment and subsequent multidisciplinary approach.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Oncologisch Centrum, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Lore Decoster

  2. Department of General Medical Oncology and Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Cindy Kenis

Authors
  1. Lore Decoster
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  2. Cindy Kenis
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Correspondence to Lore Decoster .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Senior Adult Oncology Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA

    Martine Extermann

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Supportive Care Medicine, City of Hope Duarte - Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, USA

    William Dale

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Decoster, L., Kenis, C. (2019). Geriatric Screening in Cancer Patients. In: Extermann, M. (eds) Geriatric Oncology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44870-1_47-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44870-1_47-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44870-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44870-1

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