Development of a cancer-specific Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in a University Hospital in Spain.

INTRODUCTION:

The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is a key component of the treatment approach for older cancer patients. The goals of the current study were to develop a brief but non-self-administered cancer-specific geriatric assessment and to determine its feasibility, as measured by (1) the length of time to completion and (2) patient satisfaction.

METHODS:

The literature was reviewed to select validated scales for geriatric assessment across the following domains: functional status, co-morbidity, cognition, social support and risk of malnutrition. Oncologic patients older than 70 years were included in the study.

RESULTS:

The instrument was completed by 99 patients (mean age, 78.65 yrs). The mean time to completion of that was 12.9 min (range, 9.5-20.5 min). Most patients were satisfied with its length (63.6%), and most considered it fairly easy to complete (69.7%).

CONCLUSIONS:

The designed CGA was accepted by most patients and was not perceived to be overly time-consuming.