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 ) .
Cognitive function of older patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: a pilot prospective longitudinal study.
OBJECTIVES To report on the longitudinal cognitive functioning of older women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer . DESIGN Neuropsychological and functional status testing were performed before chemotherapy and 6 months after chemotherapy . SETTING Cancer center . PARTICIPANTS Thirty-one patients aged 65 and older with Stage I to III breast cancer . Of the 31 patients enrolled , three refused post-testing , and 28 were evaluable . MEASUREMENTS The following domains of cognitive function were examined : attention ; verbal memory ; visual memory ; and verbal , spatial , psychomotor , and executive functions . RESULTS Participants had a mean age of 71 ( range 65 - 84 ) : 39 % Stage I , 50 % Stage II , and 11 % Stage III . The number of scores 2 st and ard deviations ( SDs ) below the norm were calculated for each patient before and 6 months after chemotherapy ; 14 ( 50 % ) had no change , 11 ( 39 % ) worsened , and three ( 11 % ) improved ( P=.05 ) . Seven patients ( 25 % ) experienced a decline in cognitive function , defined as a 1-SD decline from pre- to post-testing in two or more neuropsychological domains . Exploratory analyses revealed no significant difference between functional status , comorbidity , and depression scale scores and change in overall quality -of-life scores before and after chemotherapy . CONCLUSION In this cohort of older women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy , a subset experienced a decline in cognitive function from before chemotherapy to 6 months after chemotherapy . Further prospect i ve study is needed to confirm these observations and to identify the subgroup at special risk
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 ) .