Geriatric Oncology Follow-up in the Alpine Valley

Overview

As the french population is ageing, the question of medical care in elderly cancer patients is fundamental. A third of all cancer patients are 70 years or older. This population has specific challenges: autonomy maintenance, treatments efficacy with limited side effects. As a result of a call to projects, the Geriatric Oncology unit of the French Alps (UCOGAlp) has been selected by the National Institute of Cancer (INCa). It includes 15 centres in the Alpine area. This unit has been evaluated patients since 2011, giving them a full geriatric evaluation and trying to establish adapted cares. In order to evaluate the impact of those evaluation on patients' health, the investigators have developped a geriatric follow-up after 1 month (D30) and 4 months (D120). The investigators want to develop a common data base to these centres, in order to evaluate the care practices that were developped, and demonstrate the benefit for the patient on the dependence level and the overall survival.

There is a fundamental question nowadays about elderly cancer patients and how investigators can take care of them best. As the French National Institute for cancer stated, a third of all cancers are diagnosed for people over 70 years old. There are specificities for those patients: autonomy maintenance, treatments efficacy with minimum side effects. This is why the Alpine Unit for Geriatric Oncology (UCOGAlp) was opened, and answered to a national call to projects. It includes 15 hospitals upon the East side of the Rhone-Alpes state. Since 2012, this unit evaluates, according to geriatric oncology validated tests, cancer patients that are 70 years old and older, so they can benefit from an adequate care plan. The need for a geriatric evaluation is determined by the Oncodage test (G8), or on clinical data. The investigators wanted to see the impact of those initial evaluations, and so the centres developed follow-ups at day 30 and day 120. Investigators want to create a database that gathers the informations from the centres, to evaluate the care practices that were developed, and prove the benefit of such care for the patients, also on physical dependence and overall survival. This will allow new research paths in the field of geriatric oncology. This study is an observational descriptive one, multicenter, using prospective data for the geriatric oncology as defined by the UCOGAlp. It is asking the question of registering care practices in several centres of the Alpine valley that have a geriatric consultation, for elderly cancer patients. The main outcome is the number of follow-ups of patients at 4 months (D120). The secondary outcomes are the adequation between the treatment that is suggested by a committee, the geriatrician's opinion, and the given treatment, the risk factors associated with dependence, and the overall survival. The patients that are 70 years and older, recently diagnosed with cancer, are included in the study. They have an initial evaluation of their diseases, the autonomy level, a few biological data (hemoglobin, albumen, renal function), other diseases of the patient (and if they have any effect on his autonomy), the treatment that is chosen by specialists. Then there are the follow-ups with the same questions at D30 and D120. The investigators also want to collect data on overall survival after a 2-year follow-up. The investigators want the analyze from this data to be the start of many projects in geriatric oncology, whether it is for survival or decision of treatment.