Older adults account for approximately 60% of new cancer diagnoses and 70% of cancer-related deaths, yet they remain consistently under-represented in clinical trials and are routinely assessed using performance status (PS) tools developed over seven decades ago. The Karnofsky Performance Status and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS scales, while simple and widely adopted, fail to capture the multidimensional vulnerabilities that define physiologic aging. Studies show that 43%-69% of patients with good PS have geriatric assessment (GA)–identified deficits that independently predict treatment toxicity and survival. Comprehensive GA evaluates functional status, cognition, nutrition, comorbidity burden, polypharmacy, and social support—domains that PS entirely misses. Landmark randomized controlled trials, including GAP70+, GAIN, INTEGERATE, COACH, and PERI-OP, provide level 1 evidence that GA-guided interventions reduce grade 3-5 treatment toxicities by 10%-20% without affecting survival. These trials demonstrate two complementary mechanisms of benefit: treatment modification (dose attenuation and regimen selection) and intensive supportive care. Disease-specific evidence further supports GA integration, including colon, pancreatic, and lung cancers, hematologic malignancies, and surgical oncology. Practical screening tools, including the CARG score, CRASH score, Geriatric 8, and VES-13, can be completed in under 30 minutes and are feasible in routine practice. A proposed clinical algorithm integrates GA findings into treatment decision making alongside standard National Comprehensive Cancer Network, ASCO, and ECOG guidelines. Moving beyond chronologic age and PS toward an understanding of functional reserve is both an evidence-based imperative and an ethical obligation to the fastest growing and most vulnerable segment of the cancer population.
Stuart M. Lichtman (Wed,) studied this question.