Geriatric assessment  was most often completed to describe a patient 's health and functional status .
Geriatric assessment  in the oncology setting is feasible , and some domains are associated with adverse outcomes .
However , there is limited evidence that geriatric assessment impacted treatment decision making .
BACKGROUND Geriatric assessment is a multidisciplinary diagnostic process that evaluates the older adult 's medical , psychological , social , and functional capacity .
No systematic review of the use of geriatric assessment in oncology has been conducted .
The goals of this systematic review were : 1 ) to provide an overview of all geriatric assessment instruments used in the oncology setting ; 2 ) to examine the feasibility and psychometric properties of those instruments ; and 3 ) to systematic ally evaluate the effectiveness of geriatric assessment in predicting or modifying outcomes ( including the impact on treatment decision making , toxicity of treatment , and mortality ) .
Single-Agent Gemcitabine in Previously Untreated Elderly Patients with Advanced Bladder Carcinoma: Response to Treatment and Correlation with the Comprehensive Geriatric
Objective : The study aim ed at evaluating the activity and toxicity of gemcitabine monochemotherapy in a unselected series of elderly patients with advanced bladder cancer . The secondary objectives were to establish whether there is a correlation between treatment and Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment ( CGA ) and , in addition , to determine overall patient survival . Methods : Treatment consisted of six courses of chemotherapy with gemcitabine at a dosage of 1,200 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 , every 21 days . CGA , as described by Gruppo Italiano di Oncologia Geriatrica , was assessed for evaluating the functional status of patients before , during , and after treatment . Results : Twenty-five patients were enrolled ( M/F 22/3 ) , 22 of these were evaluable for response and 23 for toxicity . Characteristics of patients : median age 76 years ( range 71–87 ) ; ECOG performance status ( PS ) 1 in 12 patients and 2 in 13 patients ; clinical stage III in 6 patients and IV in 19 patients . At the end of the therapy the parameters of CGA improved in 4 cases ( 17 % ) , remained unchanged in 17 cases ( 74 % ) and worsened only in 2 cases ( 9 % ) . Two patients were not evaluable . Response evaluation showed 3 ( 13.5 % ) complete responses ( CRs ) and 7 ( 32 % ) partial responses ( PRs ) , for an overall response rate of 45.5 % [ 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) , 24.3–65.7 % ] . Three ( 13.5 % ) patients had stable disease ( SD ) and 9 ( 41 % ) disease progression ( DP ) . Median overall survival was 8 months and median time to progression was 5 months . Treatment was generally well tolerated , with 1 patient having grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity and 3 having grade 4 neutropenia . Conclusions : We conclude that gemcitabine can be safely administered in monochemotherapy , is effective and does not worsen the functional status of elderly patients with advanced bladder cancer
Geriatric assessment  was most often completed to describe a patient 's health and functional status .
Geriatric assessment  in the oncology setting is feasible , and some domains are associated with adverse outcomes .
However , there is limited evidence that geriatric assessment impacted treatment decision making .
BACKGROUND Geriatric assessment is a multidisciplinary diagnostic process that evaluates the older adult 's medical , psychological , social , and functional capacity .
No systematic review of the use of geriatric assessment in oncology has been conducted .
The goals of this systematic review were : 1 ) to provide an overview of all geriatric assessment instruments used in the oncology setting ; 2 ) to examine the feasibility and psychometric properties of those instruments ; and 3 ) to systematic ally evaluate the effectiveness of geriatric assessment in predicting or modifying outcomes ( including the impact on treatment decision making , toxicity of treatment , and mortality ) .