title: Screening older cancer patients: first evaluation of the G-8 geriatric screening tool.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Development of a geriatric screening tool is necessary to identify elderly cancer patients who would benefit from comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). We develop and evaluate the G-8 screening tool against various reference tests.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses were based on 364 cancer patients aged>70 years scheduled to receive first-line chemotherapy included in a multicenter prospective study. The G-8 consists of seven items from the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire and age. Our primary reference test is based on a set of seven CGA scales: Activities Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental ADL, MNA, Mini-Mental State Exam, Geriatric Depression Scale, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatrics, and Timed Get Up and Go. We considered the presence of at least one questionnaire with an impaired score as an abnormal reference exam. Additional reference exams are also discussed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of being at risk varied from 60% to 94% according to the various definitions of the reference test. When considering the primary reference test, a cut-off value of 14 for the G-8 tool provided a good sensitivity estimate (85%) without deteriorating the specificity excessively (65%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The G-8 shows good screening properties for identifying elderly cancer patients who could benefit from CGA.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux; INSERM CIC-EC7, ISPED, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux. Electronic address: bellera@bergonie.org.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bellera
authors.affiliation: SFR Public Health, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux; Department of Clinical Gerontology, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rainfray
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux; INSERM CIC-EC7, ISPED, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux; INSERM U897 - Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ISPED, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathoulin-Pélissier
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Gerontology, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux; Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Delva
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fonck
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Bergonié, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Soubeyran
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*