Multidimensional geriatric evaluation in elderly cancer patients and its relationship with age

19651 Background: Age is the major risk factor for the majority of patients with cancer. More than 50% of cancers occurs after the age of 60. Older patients are not simply old, but are geriatric patients because of interacting psychosocial and physical problems. As a consequence, the health status of old persons cannot be evaluated by merely describing the single disease or the group of age. We tested the performance of a new Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) and its relationship with groups of age in cancer patients. Methods: Between June 2006 and December 2006, a total of 64 oncologic patients older than 75 years were approached to enrol in our study to analyze their functional, physical, mental, pharmacotherapeutic and socio-economic status and to correlate them to some groups of age: youngest-old (75 to 80 years-old), old-old (80 and 85 years-old) and oldest-old (older than 85 years). They were analysed Activities of Daily Living (ADL) measured by Barthel Scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) measured by Lawton-Brody Scale, Grade of Fragility measured by Barber Scale, cognitive evaluation measured by Pfeiffer Test, and medication intake. A Chi Squared test was used for statistical analysis; p-value <0,05 was considered significative. Results: Sixty-four oncologic patients age > or = 75 years were recruited. Median age was 80.24 years (range 73.88 to 86.94). 51.6% female. Breast cancer was the most frequent diagnosis (30.2%), followed by lung cancer (19%). 29 patients (45.3%) were aged between 75 and 80 years old; 27 patients (43.5%) were between 80 and 85 years- old. There were statistic significative association between groups of age and Pfeiffer Test (p=0.037), Barber Scale (p=0.031) and medication intake (p=0.021). However, there was not a significative relationship between groups of age and Barthel Scale (p=0.052), Lawton-Brody Scale (p=0.2425), Cruz-Roja Scale (p=0,1485) or number of geriatric syndromes (p=0.129). Conclusions: This abstract reviews the findings regarding the correlation between a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and groups of age in older patients with cancer. Age per se must not be the only criterion for medical decision as it is not correlated to the health status of older cancer patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.