Socioeconomic Considerations and Shared-Care Models of Cancer Care for Older Adults

Older adults with cancer require a geriatrics approach to treatment. Such an approach targets appropriate treatments based on physiologic, not chronologic, age. Patients older than 65 years of age constitute the largest group of patients with cancer, making them the most expensive group of patients with cancer, especially with the advent of expensive new treatments with minimal impact on overall survival. Geriatric assessment, combined with targeted inventions, can optimize the value propositions in caring for older patients with cancer. Over the past 20 years, geriatric oncology care models have emerged applying these care principles in clinical practice.