Aims: Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a multidisciplinary diagnostic process that evaluates medical, psychological, social and functional capacity. No systematic review of the use of CGA in radiation oncology has been conducted. This paper reviews the use of CGA in radiation oncology, examines whether such assessments are feasible and evaluates the effectiveness of these assessments in predicting and modifying outcomes.
Materials and methods: We searched Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library for articles published between 1 January 1996 and 24 January 2017.
Results: Twelve non-randomised studies were identified; four studies used a geriatric screening tool only and the eight other studies combined a screening tool with a CGA. Most studies had small samples (mean 63 participants). Two studies identified a significant (95% confidence interval 1.5-4.8 and 1.5-6.9) association between an abnormal screening and increased risk of mortality. One study showed an ability of the CGA to influence treatment decision making, whereas six papers suggested a non-significant association between the screening tool/CGA and treatment tolerance.
Conclusion: The studies suggest the feasibility of using a screening tool to select patients for CGA. 'Vulnerability' showed a non-statistically significant association with treatment tolerance, but a significant association with mortality.
Keywords: Aged; comprehensive geriatric assessment; frail elderly; radiation oncology; systematic review.
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