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 ) .
Comprehensive geriatric assessment in Korean elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy
Background Growing evidence suggests that a comprehensive geriatric assessment ( CGA ) in older patients with cancer can detect unsuspected health problems , predict survival , and predict tolerance to chemotherapy . However , studies regarding CGA in cancer patients are scarce in Asia . Methods We prospect ively enrolled 65 elderly cancer patients who were c and i date s of systemic chemotherapy between July 2006 and March 2008 . Baseline CGA data including demographic information , comorbidity , functional status by means of Activities of Daily Living ( ADL ) , and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living ( IADL ) , cognition , psychological state , nutritional status , and medication were collected and analyzed . Quality of life ( QoL ) was assessed by the EORTC question naire QLQ-C30 . Results Of the 65 patients , the median age was 71 years ( range , 65–80 ) , 49 ( 75 % ) were males , and 58 ( 89 % ) had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ( ECOG PS ) 0 or 1 . All patients had solid tumor , 74 % received palliative chemotherapy , and 18 % received adjuvant chemotherapy . Twenty-five percent of patients had Charlson ’s comorbidity index score of 2 or more , 23 % were ADL dependent , and 14 % were IADL dependent . Using Mini-Mental Status Exam ( MMSE ) , it was found that 51 % of patients had mild cognitive impairment ( MMSE score 17–24 ) , and 5 % had cognitive impairment ( ≤16 ) . Forty percent of patients had depression by Short form Geriatric Depression Scale ( SGDS ) , 19 % had malnutrition by Mini-Nutritional Assessment ( MNA ) , and 23 % had body mass index ( BMI ) less than 19.4 kg/m2 ( lowest 10 % ) . Global health status/ quality of life ( QoL ) was less than 50 % in 39 % of patients . Frail patients according to the Balducci classification had significantly poor ECOG PS and worse global health status/QoL.  Conclusion CGA was feasible and could detect multiple unsuspected health problems including functional impairment and malnutrition in Korean elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy
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 ) .