Why are we still not involving geriatricians in caring for our older cancer patients?

Dr. Fatou Farima Bagayogo is as a post-doctoral fellow who is currently interested in the organizational and professional factors that influence cancer care. This Fall, she is joining York University’s School of Health Policy and Management as an Assistant Professor in health management and global health. Some of her work is listed here. In her recent co-authored paper, she discusses creation in a hospital of a geriatric oncology clinic whose mandate is to facilitate the inclusion of geriatrics-based expertise in the care of older cancer patients.

Sixty percent of new cancers are diagnosed in patients older than 65 years of age. Given the vulnerabilities of older cancer patients, cancer specialists increasingly need the inclusion of some geriatric competence in managing these patients. Geriatricians can help them with a better assessment of a patient’s condition and a more adapted handling of these patients’ vulnerabilities. Considering the ageing of the population and the fact that cancer care will have to be increasingly adapted to the age group that will make the bulk of cancer patients, we studied whether or not this adaptation is taking place and the associated reasons. We tried to identify and explain the patterns of referrals from cancer specialists to a clinic staffed by geriatricians who are interested in being involved with older cancer patient care.

Improving cancer care for older people

Dr Shane O’Hanlon is a consultant geriatrician with the Macmillan COCOC team (Comprehensive Care for Older People with Cancer) at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. He tweets @drohanlon

Today is World Cancer Day, and is a good opportunity to take stock of where we are with cancer care for older people.

Many people are surprised to hear that the majority of cancers are now diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years – this group is 11 times more likely to develop cancer than young adults. The incidence of cancer generally has been increasing since the 1970s, but the largest increase has been among people aged 75 years and older.

So we really should be offering excellent care to this group, and outcomes should be constantly improving. Is that what is happening?

BGS Oncology SIG Meeting Report

Dr Lucy Dumas is a Medical Oncology Specialist trainee at the Royal Marsden.  She has just started research with Dr Susana Banerjee towards an MD degree focusing on the treatment of Gynaecological cancers in older patients.  Here she fills us in on what happened at the first ever BGS Oncology Special Interest Group meeting.

@profseanduffy explains that one third of cancer diagnoses now in >75s and half of death #bgsconf #gerionc http://t.co/llNcTY04i7—
BritishGeriatricsSoc (@GeriSoc) September 18, 2015

On Friday the 18^th September, the inaugural meeting of an Oncology Special Interest Group, part of the British Geriatrics Society was held at the Wellcome Collection in London.  Myself and a small group of other intrepid oncologists and surgeons from around the UK were welcomed into the world of geriatrics, with the common aim of gaining a better understanding of the current status of the growing field of “Geriatric Oncology”; how outcomes for older patients may be improved.

Tailored care for older patients with cancer in Latin America: an imminent challenge

Enrique Soto Pérez-de-Celis and Ana Patricia Navarrete-Reyes work at the National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City. They tweet at @EnriqueSoto8 and @patsnavarrete

Although cancer can affect any person, regardless of their age, most people with cancer and most cancer survivors are older adults. Cancer is a disease of ageing, and in an ageing world, the role of the geriatrician in the management of the older adult with cancer is progressively becoming more and more relevant.

Strengthening the link between geriatrics and oncology

Mr Kwok-Leung Cheung is Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at Royal Derby Hospital. He is the UK National Representative for the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and member of its Surgical Task Force and Science and Educational Committee.

As the UK National Representative of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), I last wrote to you following our 14th Conference in October 2014. I mentioned the importance of ‘bringing the two worlds (oncology and geriatrics) together’, given our shared goals to improve the holistic care for older adults, including those with cancer.

I would like to continue to work with you as the UK specialty association in geriatrics to enhance the link between these two ‘worlds’ in the UK.

Bringing Two Worlds Together: Oncology and Geriatrics

Kwok Leung Cheung is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at Derby Hospitals. In this blog, he discusses his ongoing work in geriatric oncology.

The 14^th Conference of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) was held in October 2014 in Lisbon, celebrating SIOG’s mission by bringing together multidisciplinary experts in cancer and ageing via its annual conference theme, ‘Bringing Two Worlds Together: Oncology and Geriatrics’.  For more than a decade, geriatric oncology has been emerging across the globe as a discipline aiming to improve the care for older adults with cancer.  The majority of cancers occur in the older population which is also rapidly expanding.  Attention should now be paid not just to cancer biology and treatments, but also the holistic needs of the older population, which have been well known to you all in the field of geriatrics.  Unfortunately, involvement of geriatricians in the care of cancer patients remains patchy in the world.