Development of a cancer-specific Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in a University Hospital in Spain.
BACKGROUND
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.
Molina-Garrido
M J
MJ
Department of Medical Oncology, General Hospital Virgen de la Luz in Cuenca, Spain. mjmolinagarrido@hotmail.com
Guillén-Ponce
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors