title: Comorbidity in older adults with cancer.
abstract: Comorbidity is an issue of growing importance due to changing demographics and the increasing number of adults over the age of 65 with cancer. The best approach to the clinical management and decision-making in older adults with comorbid conditions remains unclear. In May 2015, the Cancer and Aging Research Group, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging, met to discuss the design and implementation of intervention studies in older adults with cancer. A presentation and discussion on comorbidity measurement, interventions, and future research was included. In this article, we discuss the relevance of comorbidities in cancer, examine the commonly used tools to measure comorbidity, and discuss the future direction of comorbidity research. Incorporating standardized comorbidity measurement, relaxing clinical trial eligibility criteria, and utilizing novel trial designs are critical to developing a larger and more generalizable evidence base to guide the management of these patients. Creating or adapting comorbidity management strategies for use in older adults with cancer is necessary to define optimal care for this growing population.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: grant.williams@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Grant R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magnuson
authors.affiliation: University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olin
authors.affiliation: Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohile
authors.affiliation: Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allore
authors.affiliation: American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Somerfield
authors.affiliation: SCOREboard, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Targia
authors.affiliation: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Extermann
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Harvey Jay
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Arti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hurria
authors.affiliation: University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holmes
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015897:Comorbidity; D003657:Decision Making; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000592:standards*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000073859:Survivorship
keywords: Aged; Cancer; Comorbidity; Geriatric oncology; Multimorbidity