title: What the specific tools of geriatrics and oncology can tell us about the role and status of geriatricians in a pilot geriatric oncology program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pilot Oncogeriatric Coordination Units (UPCOGs) were created by the French National Cancer Institute (INCA) in order to implement routine geriatric assessment of all cancer patients over 75 years of age. This article examines the role of geriatric and oncologic tools in the organization of medical oncogeriatric activities, focusing on the role and place of geriatricians.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a qualitative sociological survey in the West Paris Oncogeriatric Program (POGOP), one of the Pilot Oncogeriatric Coordination Units (UPCOGs) recently created in France. Various qualitative methods were used including a review of the literature, participative observational surveys, and semidirective interviews with medical staff managing elderly cancer patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that the way in which geriatric assessment procedures are implemented confirms the role of the geriatrician in the diagnosis and prevention of vulnerabilities and fragility at the time of initial diagnosis and medical decision making. Nevertheless, the articulation of these different working methods gives rise to various organizational configurations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The POGOP has largely contributed to clarifying medical activity in oncogeriatrics: identification of physicians, definition of shared goals, initiation, and structuring of new partnerships. Nevertheless, the geriatrician's tools, expertise, and know-how are often perceived ambiguously.
authors.affiliation: Medical Emergency and Geriatric Department, Research Center of Medicine, Sciences, Health and Society (Cermès 3), EHESS, Villejuif, France. lynda.sifer@free.fr
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sifer-Rivière
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Saint-Jean
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gisselbrecht
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cudennec
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Girre
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'