BACKGROUND: Geriatric assessment (GA) must be integrated into treatment concepts for elderly cancer patients. Aim of this study was to assess the coverage of a large battery of GA instruments by determining the number of independent domains measured. METHODS: Thirteen different GA scores were applied in 78 elderly tumor patients (mean age 72.9 years). Data were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and substantiated by non-parametric correlation analyses. RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded a six-factor solution explaining 77.1% of the total variance. The six domains identified may be described as general functioning in everyday life, health-related quality of life, co-morbidities, social support, cognition, and nutritional status. This factor structure was reasonably well confirmed by correlation analyses. Notably, WHO Performance Status, Karnofsky Index, VES-13 and PPT generally revealed high correlations with functional capacities, but only low correlations with comorbidities, social support, cognitive functioning or nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: From the six domains described a basis for efficient application of GA instruments in elderly cancer patients is worked out. The classical instruments WHO and KI as well as the screening scores VES-13 and PPT, while capturing physical functioning well, fail to cover several other important GA domains. 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Geriatric assessment (GA) must be integrated into treatment concepts for elderly cancerpatients. Aim of this study was to assess the coverage of a large battery of GA instruments by determining the number of independent domains measured. METHODS: Thirteen different GA scores were applied in 78 elderly tumorpatients (mean age 72.9 years). Data were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and substantiated by non-parametric correlation analyses. RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded a six-factor solution explaining 77.1% of the total variance. The six domains identified may be described as general functioning in everyday life, health-related quality of life, co-morbidities, social support, cognition, and nutritional status. This factor structure was reasonably well confirmed by correlation analyses. Notably, WHO Performance Status, Karnofsky Index, VES-13 and PPT generally revealed high correlations with functional capacities, but only low correlations with comorbidities, social support, cognitive functioning or nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: From the six domains described a basis for efficient application of GA instruments in elderly cancerpatients is worked out. The classical instruments WHO and KI as well as the screening scores VES-13 and PPT, while capturing physical functioning well, fail to cover several other important GA domains. 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors: Ralph Simanek; Michael Wuensch; Roland Edlinger; Bernhard Hammerl-Ferrari; Ludwig Kramer; Klaus Geissler Journal: Wien Klin Wochenschr Date: 2010-04 Impact factor: 1.704
Authors: Heidi D Klepin; Ann M Geiger; Janet A Tooze; Stephen B Kritchevsky; Jeff D Williamson; Leslie R Ellis; Denise Levitan; Timothy S Pardee; Scott Isom; Bayard L Powell Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2011-09-13 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: J S Gewandter; L Fan; A Magnuson; K Mustian; L Peppone; C Heckler; J Hopkins; M Tejani; G R Morrow; S G Mohile Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2013-02-28 Impact factor: 3.603