Pre-operative geriatric screening and assessment as predictors of postoperative complications in older adults with gynecologic cancer: A pilot cohort study on a neglected issue.

As the world population ages, the incidence of gynecologic cancer in older adults is increasing more rapidly than in younger patients [ [1] Dumas L. et al. Improving outcomes for older women with gynaecological malignancies. Cancer Treat Rev. 2016; 50: 99-108https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctrv.2016.08.007 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar ]. Surgery is the cornerstone of gynecologic cancer treatment, but little is known about optimal therapy in older adults. Preoperative assessment of older patients is challenging not only due to cancer related factors, but also because comorbidity, functional status, social network and geriatric syndromes could play a role in determining the final outcome. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional evaluation of patients' global health status and consists of validated scales to identify impairments in geriatric domains. In different Geriatric Oncology (GO) settings, it has proved to be useful in identifying and managing underlying undetected medical, functional, and psycho-social impairments that may interfere with treatment [ [2] Maas H.A.A.M. Janssen-Heijnen M.L.G. Olde Rikkert M.G.M. Machteld Wymenga A.N. Comprehensive geriatric assessment and its clinical impact in oncology. Eur J Cancer Oxf Engl. 2007; 1990: 2161-2169https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2007.08.002 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (147) Google Scholar ].