Geriatric Oncology-Geriatric Syndrome-Comorbid Diseases

Abstract

Diagnosis of cancer and cancer death rate is increasing currently. While the geriatric patient group shows a heterogeneous pattern, chronological age does not often correlate with biological age. Geriatric syndromes, comorbidities, concurrent polydrug use, and physical dysfunctions have been commonly seen in patients. Geriatric syndromes are closely related to quality of life and affect the prognosis and outcome of cancer treatment to a great extent. For this reason, the subjects managing the patients and minimizing the side effects of treatment have gained importance. Geriatric oncology is a developing branch to find solutions to these problems. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) used by geriatricians in clinical practice is a special assessment which contains many medical fields to determine general health status and functionality of patients. CGA integrated into the care of older cancer patients is used to predict the tolerability, toxicity of chemotherapy and surgical outcomes. More older adult centered studies are needed to include geriatric practices into oncology health services in the future and to determine objective treatment standards in older patients.