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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Aug 15.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer. 2016 May 12;122(16):2459–2568. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30053

Table 1. Examples of Geriatric Oncology Research that Supports Behavioral, Cancer Control, and Survivorship Interventions.

Research Priority Study N = Age (y), Characteristics Objective Results
GA Hurria, et al8 500 Median age 73; Mixed solid tumor types and lymphomas To develop a predictive model for grade 3 to 5 toxicity Grade 3 to 5 toxicity occurred in 53% of patients; Predictive factors included age ≥ 72, tumor type, chemotherapy dosing and number of agents, anemia, reduced creatinine clearance, hearing loss, history of falls, needing medication assistance, reduced ability to walk one block and decreased social activities due to health
GA Extermann, et al12 518 Median age 76; Mixed solid tumor types and lymphomas To create and validate a list of variables used to predict chemotherapy toxicity Severe toxicity observed in 64% of patients; Predictors of hematologic toxicity were lymphocytes, AST level, IADL, LDH, DBP and chemotherapy intensity; Predictors of nonhematologic toxicity were hemoglobin, creatinine clearance, albumin, self-rated health, ECOG PS, MMSE, MNA and chemotherapy intensity.
GA Karnesvaran, et al14 249 Median age 77; solid tumor malignancies included To determine the impact of each GA domain on OS Age, albumin, ECOG PS, GDS score, high malnutrition risk and advanced disease were independent predictors of survival.
GA Palumbo, et al13 869 Median age 74, newly diagnosed MM patients To identify a scoring system based on geriatric parameters to predict OS Age, comorbidities, cognitive and physical impairments identified patients who were most likely to have toxicity from therapy, discontinue therapy, or die.
GA and management Caillet, et al45 375 Mean age 79.6, solid tumor malignancies included To identify GA components independently associated with changes in planned cancer treatments After GA, initial treatment plan was modified in 20.8% of patients; factors independently associated with cancer treatment changes were ADL score and malnutrition.
GA and management Kalsi, et al46 65 Mean age 75.8; all types of cancer To evaluate the impact of geriatrician-delivered GA interventions on chemotherapy toxicity and tolerance Participants received a mean of 6.2 interventions (range 0-15). They were more likely to complete cancer treatment as planned compared to a historical cohort.
GA and management Baitar, et al27 1550 Patients age ≥70 at time of diagnosis of cancer or disease progression To describe and evaluate the implementation of geriatric recommendations based on GA A median of 2 geriatric recommendations (range 1-6) were given to 76% of the evaluable patients (n=710). 35% of all the recommendations were performed. Most common were referrals to dietician, social worker, and psychologist.
GA and management Corre et al28 494 Patients age ≥70 with advanced lung cancer To evaluate the impact of CGA allocated treatment on treatment failure free survival Although there was no improvement in survival outcomes, the prevalence of overall toxicities (85.6% vs 93.4%, p=.015) and treatment failures as a result of toxicity were significantly decreased (4.8% vs 11.8%, p=.007) in the CGA arm.
Physical Activity and Nutrition Morey, et al47 641 Survivors aged 65-91 years who were overweight To evaluate the impact of a home-based telephone and education program on mediating functional decline in RCT Mean functional scores on SF-36 declined less rapidly in the intervention group. Physical activity, dietary behaviors and QoL increased significantly in intervention group compared with control group. Weight loss was greater in the intervention group.
Survivorship Faul, et al40 328 Women with invasive, nonmetastatic breast cancer To examine the receipt of SCPs among older breast cancer survivors and association with outcomes 35% of women received SCP. Increasing age was associated with lower odds of receiving SCP. SCPs were associated with greater knowledge and understanding; however functioning was not significantly different.
Ongoing study:
GA and management
Mohile, et al 688 Patients age ≥70 with advanced solid tumor malignancy receiving treatment To compare GA with management to usual care for reducing chemotherapy toxicity Study Ongoing
Ongoing study:
Biologic Predictors of Outcome
Hurria, et al 500 Patients age ≥65 with stage I-III breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy To identify clinical and biological predictors for toxicity to adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in older breast cancer patients Study Ongoing
Ongoing study:
Physical Activity and Biomarkers
Muss, et al 100 Breast cancer patients age ≥65 To evaluate the impact of a physical activity intervention program on biomarkers of aging and body composition Study Ongoing

GA = Geriatric assessment; PS = Performance status; ADL = Activities of Daily Living, IDL = Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; AST = Aspartate aminotransferase level; LDH = Lactate Dehydrogenase; DBP = Diastolic blood pressure; MMSE = Mini Mental Status; MNA = Mini Nutritional assessment; OS = overall survival; MM = Multiple myeloma; SCP = Survivorship Care Plan