None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Older patients with head and neck cancer may not tolerate the treatments given with the intent to cure their disease as well as younger adults, which may compromise their outcome. Comprehensive assessment by a geriatrician to assess the fitness of older adults for such treatment is recommended but this cannot be provided with existing resources. We are introducing a screening questionnaire to assess which patients may benefit from a geriatric assessment before a final treatment recommendation is made. In this study we will assess how the information provided by the screening questionnaire changes the proportion of patients who are referred for geriatric assessment, and the resulting changes in patient management and short-term outcomes.
Interventions
All patients aged over 65 years attending for specialist assessment at Waikato Hospital regarding their head and neck cancer will, in a new initiative, be assessed using the Geriatric-8 (G8) screening tool. This takes only a few minutes and a nurse will ask questions on one occasion about 8 aspects of the patient's health (including appetite, weight loss, mobility, medications and mental functioning). The patient's case will subsequently be presented at the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Meetin
All patients aged over 65 years attending for specialist assessment at Waikato Hospital regarding their head and neck cancer will, in a new initiative, be assessed using the Geriatric-8 (G8) screening tool. This takes only a few minutes and a nurse will ask questions on one occasion about 8 aspects of the patient's health (including appetite, weight loss, mobility, medications and mental functioning). The patient's case will subsequently be presented at the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Meeting (MDM) for a management decision without the G8 score being disclosed. All patients with potentially curable disease whom either the MDM and/or the G8 screening tool has classified as ‘vulnerable’ will be referred for a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), consisting of a consultation with a specialist geriatric physician. Patients classified as ‘unfit’ by the MDM will be offered palliative treatment or symptomatic care (or a CGA if classified as ‘fit’ on the G8 tool).
Sponsors
Waikato District Health Board
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
66 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients aged over 65 years of age, with head and neck carcinoma (both cutaneous and mucosal)
Exclusion criteria
Patients not able to complete the G8 screening with the assistance of nursing staff
Outcome results
None listed