Active Task Forces

Renal insufficiency in elderly cancer patients As elderly cancer patients commonly show renal function decline, the taskforce was formed to discuss optimal clinical practices for treating patients of this group with renal insufficiency, paying particular attention to how renal function should be best monitored. The taskforce outlined recommended dosing adjustments of anticancer drugs for elderly cancer patients according to their renal function. Chair: Vincent Launay-Vacher, France Members: Matti Aapro, Switzerland Etienne Chatelut, France Stuart Lichtman, USA Christopher Steer, Australia Hans Wildiers, Belgium 2007 Renal insufficiency in elderly cancer patients: International Society of Geriatric Oncology clinical practice recommendations. Launay-Vacher V, et al. Ann Oncol 2007; 18:1314-31 International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) recommendations for the adjustment of dosing in elderly cancer patients with renal insufficiency. Lichtman SM, et al. Eur J Cancer 2007; 43: 14-34 This project was supported by an unrestricted grant from [...]

Adapting care for older cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic poses a barrier to equal and evidence-based management of cancer in older adults. The International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) formed a panel of experts to develop consensus recommenda-tions on the implications of the pandemic on several aspects of cancer care in this age group including geriatric assessment (GA), surgery, radiotherapy, systemic treatment, palliative care and research. Age and cancer diagnosis are significant predictors of adverse outcomes of the COVID-19 infection. In this setting, GA is particularly valuable to drive decision-making. GA may aid estimating physiologic reserve and adaptive ca-pability, assessing risk-benefits of either providing or temporarily withholding treatments, and determining pa-tient preferences to help inform treatment decisions. In a resource-constrained setting, geriatric screening tools may be administered remotely to identify patients requiring comprehensive GA. Tele-health is also crucial to en-sure adequate continuity of [...]

Treating Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in patients aged 70 and above Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a disease of older adults, with approximately one-third of newly diagnosed patients being ≥75 years of age. Chronologic age remains a major factor in both treatment decision-making and trial design with “older” frequently characterized as >60-65 years and a large proportion of patients over age 75 years excluded from trials and receiving no therapy for the disease based on registry data. While selected older adults can benefit from curative therapies, as a group they experience increased treatment-related morbidity, are more likely to relapse, and have decreased survival. Most studies have shown that Complete Remission (CR) rates, Relapse-Free Survival (RFS) and Overall Survival (OS) in older AML patients are much lower than their younger counterparts. The reason for these poor CR rates and survival includes a combination of patient-related factors and the underlying [...]

Elderly patients with Lung Cancer Real world patients diagnosed with lung cancer are aged on the one hand (median age around 70 years) and often frail on the other. In the past years the treatment landscape of NSCLC has changed drastically with the introduction of novel targeted agents, immunotherapy and several different combination regimens. However, in most trials’ patients are young (often median 60-65 years of age) and fit (ECOG 0-1, no comorbidities). The SIOG lung cancer Task Force aims to review the available data in older NSCLC patients and an expert position will be formulated. Members will participate in the elaborations of one of two expert position papers, one focused on oncogene-driven and another on non-oncogene-driven NSCLC. These manuscripts will be produced thorough review of the literature and available data, as well as from clinical expertise. All members of the task force will be [...]

Management of Prostate Cancer in Elderly Patients Even though significant progress has been made in the standard of care, with more and more therapies available that target specific kinds of tumors, the greatest successes have been limited to only a few types of cancers. According to Global cancer statistics 2018 (GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide), prostate is reported to be one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer in 105 countries. With regard to mortality, it is the leading cause of deaths in 46 countries.  Sanofi is among the frontrunners that have forged new paths for the treatment of prostate cancer.  With a generous sponsorship from Sanofi, in 2010 SIOG established a taskforce that issued guidelines on the management of prostate cancer in older patients. SIOG has issued in 2014, 2017 and in 2019 updates of these guidelines. Recent advancements in the field brings SIOG to propose [...]

Impact of Nutrition in the Management Outcomes of Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Cancers Malnutrition is one of the most common physical manifestations of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and is often under-diagnosed and under-treated. Like cancers, malnutrition occurs more commonly in older adults, consequently affecting the quality of life, functional status, tolerance to treatment, and prognosis. Its assessment and management requires a proactive and systematic, multi-disciplinary approach. Early assessment/detection as well as prompt intervention of cancer–associated malnutrition and cachexia are equally essential to achieve a better quality nutritional care for older oncology patients. This article aims to provide an overview of the evidence associated with poor nutrition and outcomes in older patients with GI cancers, and recommends a management approach from a geriatric oncologist’s perspective. Laura Biganzoli (Italy) Federico Bozzetti (Italy) Samantha Di Donato (Italy) Joelen Hubbard (USA) Lalit Krishna (Singapore) Anna Rachelle Mislang (Australia) Giuseppe Mottino [...]