Geriatric Oncology has arrived.  Yes, Louise Walter has been leading the fight to improve cancer screening in older adults for years.  But when it came to geriatricizing the way we assess and treat older adults with cancer, the evidence was thin. In our prior podcast with Supriya Mohile and William Dale on geriatric assessment in oncology, we couldn’t say for certain if a geriatric assessment was helpful for patients with cancer.  Well now we can.  

We are joined by Melisa Wong, a geriatric oncologist, and Louise Walter, a geriatrician and leader in cancer screening for older adults, to talk about the shifting landscape of geriatric oncology, including:

• How to think about cancer screening in older adults, moving beyond a one-size-fits all age-based approach to individualize cancer screening decisions.  We also talk about the importance of thought pieces in driving a field forward.
• 2 landmark trials of the geriatric assessment in oncology, one in JAMA Oncology (first author Daneng Li) and the other in the Lancet (first author Supriya Mohile) (William Dale senior author for both studies).  In both studies, grade 3+ toxicity was reduced in the geriatric assessment arm.
• Melisa Wong’s study in JAGS finding a constriction of life space for older adults with cancer, and discussion of patient centered outcomes beyond traditional outcomes such as grade 3+ chemotherapy toxicity.

Links of Interest:

• Association of Community Cancer Center site on Geriatric Oncology
• Cancer and Aging Research Group

And as a bonus, you get to hear Louise on piano and vocals and I cover Wouldn’t It be Loverly, from My Fair Lady.  

-Enjoy!