Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Men Aged 70 Years or Older with Localised Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radical...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric oncology
• Prostate cancer management
• Radiotherapy toxicity

Background:

• Treatment decisions for older men (70+) with localized prostate cancer require considering competing risks and treatment fitness.
• Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) can aid in objective decision-making for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe CGA scores in older men with prostate cancer.
• To evaluate screening tools (VES-13, G8) for identifying health needs.
• To determine if CGA components predict acute radiotherapy toxicity.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 178 men aged 70+ with localized prostate cancer undergoing radical external beam radiotherapy.
• Pretreatment comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13), and G8 assessment were performed.

Main Results:

• 30.1% of participants had health needs identified by CGA.
• VES-13 and G8 showed significant association with CGA needs but had disappointing sensitivity.
• No association was found between CGA (or its components) and significant acute radiotherapy toxicity.

Conclusions:

• A significant proportion of older men with localized prostate cancer are vulnerable, as identified by CGA.
• Current screening tools (VES-13, G8) lack sufficient sensitivity for this population.
• CGA outcomes do not predict significant acute radiotherapy toxicity.