Authors: Wen Yang Goh,  Hsien Xiong Raphael Lee, Han Yee Neo

Published in: Palliat Med. 2020 Feb;34(2):253-254. doi: 10.1177/0269216319891844

Summary points:

• Older adults with cancer should be evaluated for presence of geriatric syndrome as this will help in making individualized treatment plans based on frailty and clinical needs.
• In the geriatric oncology literature, there are a variety of tools used to define frailty with their own merits.
• It is important to understand that frailty is a dynamic construct and potentially reversible with geriatric syndrome directed interventions such as physical rehabilitation and nutritional fortification.
• Hence, the detection of frailty must not equate to limitation of care. On the contrary, all efforts should be made to seek and reverse the underlying cause so that patient can receive cancer-directed treatment in a safe and effective manner.