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 ) .
Prevalence of functional disability among elderly patients with cancer.
This study is part of a larger multicenter prospect i ve study conducted in Italy to assess the efficacy of the comprehensive geriatric assessment ( CGA ) among elderly patients with cancer ( i.e. aged 65 years or older ) . The prevalence of functional limitations , and its association with selected characteristics , was investigated among 303 elderly patients consecutively admitted at the Department of Medical Oncology , IRCCS Centro di Riferimento Oncologico , Aviano ( Northeast Italy ) , between 1995 and 1998 . These patients had a median age of 72 years ( range , 65 - 94 ) , and were affected by haematological ( n=182 ) or solid tumours ( n=121 ) . At baseline , their physical function was assessed , in addition to performance status ( PS ) , by means of the  activity of daily living ( ADL ) and the  instrumental activities of daily living ( IADL ) scales . Overall , 17 % of the patients had a limitation for ADL , and 59 % for IADL , the prevalence of functional disabilities increased with age . Specifically , 8 % of patients had continence limitations and 13 % had limitations in taking the prescribed drugs . By multivariate analysis , a poor PS turned out to be a strong independent determinant of both ADL and IADL disabilities
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 ) .