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 ) .
Predicting chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with cancer: a prospective multicenter study.
PURPOSE Older adults are vulnerable to chemotherapy toxicity ; however , there are limited data to identify those at risk . The goals of this study are to identify risk factors for chemotherapy toxicity in older adults and develop a risk stratification schema for chemotherapy toxicity . PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients age ≥ 65 years with cancer from seven institutions completed a prechemotherapy assessment  that captured sociodemographics , tumor/treatment variables , laboratory test results , and geriatric assessment variables ( function , comorbidity , cognition , psychological state , social activity/support , and nutritional status ) . Patients were followed through the chemotherapy course to capture grade 3 ( severe ) , grade 4 ( life-threatening or disabling ) , and grade 5 ( death ) as defined by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events . RESULTS In total , 500 patients with a mean age of 73 years ( range , 65 to 91 years ) with stage I to IV lung ( 29 % ) , GI ( 27 % ) , gynecologic ( 17 % ) , breast ( 11 % ) , genitourinary ( 10 % ) , or other ( 6 % ) cancer joined this prospect i ve study . Grade 3 to 5 toxicity occurred in 53 % of the patients ( 39 % grade 3 , 12 % grade 4 , 2 % grade 5 ) . A predictive model for grade 3 to 5 toxicity was developed that consisted of geriatric assessment variables , laboratory test values , and patient , tumor , and treatment characteristics . A scoring system in which the median risk score was 7 ( range , 0 to 19 ) and risk stratification schema ( risk score : percent incidence of grade 3 to 5 toxicity ) identified older adults at low ( 0 to 5 points ; 30 % ) , intermediate ( 6 to 9 points ; 52 % ) , or high risk ( 10 to 19 points ; 83 % ) of chemotherapy toxicity ( P < .001 ) . CONCLUSION A risk stratification schema can establish the risk of chemotherapy toxicity in older adults . Geriatric assessment variables independently predicted the risk of toxicity
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 ) .