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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment is challenging in older patients. There is a lack of evidence-based recommendations for older patients ≥70, a group largely underrepresented in clinical trials. With new treatment options being available in recent years, recommendations are needed for these patients. As such the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) assembled a task force to review the evidence specific to treatment and outcomes in this population of patients ≥70 years. Six questions were selected by the expert panel in domains of (1) baseline assessment, (2) frontline therapy, (3) post-remission therapy, (4) treatment for relapse, (5) targeted therapies, and (6) patient reported outcome/function and enhancing treatment tolerance. Information from current literature was extracted, combining evidence from systematic reviews/meta-analyses, decision models, individual trials targeting these patients, and subgroup data. Accordingly, recommendations were generated using a GRADE approach upon reviewing current evidence by consensus of the whole panel. It is our firm recommendation and hope that direct evidence should be generated for patients aged ≥70 as a distinct group in high need of improvement of their survival outcomes. Such studies should integrate information from a geriatric assessment to optimize external validity and outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Disclosures: Dr. Extermann: Aileron, Alnylam (consultant), OncLive (honoraria). Dr. Artz: Abbvie, Magenta (consulting). Dr. Klepin: UptoDate (contributor). DrLoh: COI: Dr. Loh: Pfizer and Seagen (consultant), Pfizer (honoraria). Dr. Neuendorff: Janssen-Cilag, Medac, Novartis, Abbvie, and Jazz Pharmaceutical (honoraria, travel support). Dr. Santini: Abbvie, CTI, Celegne/BMS, Geron, Gilead, Novartis, Otsuka, Serveir, Syros (advisory boards), AIRC Foundation, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca contro il Cancro, Milan Italy – Project. IG # 26537 (grant). Dr. Stauder: Celgene/BMS (Advisory board); Celgene/BMS (Honoraria); Celgene/BMS (Research funding). Dr. Vey: Celgene/BMS, Novartis, Roche, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (honoraria)., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Battisti reports receiving travel grants from Exact Sciences, Pfizer, and Lilly; speaker fees from AbbVie, Roche, Sanofi, and Novartis; and serving on advisory boards of Pfizer, Abbott, and Sanofi. Dr. Loh reports receiving honoraria from Pfizer and acting as a consultant to Seattle Genetics. Dr. Kanesvaran reports receiving honoraria for advisory boards and speaking engagements from BMS, MSD, Astellas, J&J, Eisai, Ipsen, Pfizer, Merk, AstraZaneca, Novartis.

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 recommendations 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 capability, assessing risk-benefits of either providing or temporarily withholding treatments, and determining patient 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 ensure adequate continuity of care and minimize the risk of infection exposure. In general, therapeutic decisions should favor the most effective and least invasive approach with the lowest risk of adverse outcomes. In selected cases, this might require deferring or omitting surgery, radiotherapy or systemic treatments especially where benefits are marginal and alternative safe therapeutic options are available. Ongoing research is necessary to expand knowledge of the management of cancer in older adults. However, the pandemic presents a significant barrier and efforts should be made to ensure equitable access to clinical trials and prospective data collection to elucidate the outcomes of COVID-19 in this population., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Multidisciplinary care is believed to provide benefits to patients with cancer. Tumor board conferences as well aspalliative care or psycho-oncological services have not only become common in oncology, but also in hematology clinics dedicated to the treatment of hematological cancers. Malignant hematological diseases are highly prevalent among older persons. Demographic changes in many countries worldwide are prompting the integration of geriatric principles, methodology, and expertise into existing procedures and infrastructure of multidisciplinary care in hematology clinics. Achieving this goal requires the close collaboration or even incorporation of multiple new professions in the hematology clinic in order to meet the needs of older patients with hematological malignancies who also have comorbidities and functional impairments. We here review the rationale, current evidence, and practical approaches of integrating geriatric oncology into multidisciplinary care in the hematology clinic., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the elderly, and is increasing in incidence. Although significant therapeutic advances have recently been made in the care of older patients with DLBCL, based upon results of randomized clinical trials, many older patients are not eligible for such trials due to comorbidities and functional decline. Pre-treatment evaluation of older patients to ascertain potential tolerance to therapy is especially important in therapeutic decisions for this population. Evaluation by performance status alone is insufficient, especially in the elderly, and consideration of the impact of comorbidities and functional/social decline needs to be included in such assessment. As part of an International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) task force, the issues of prognosis, comorbidities, geriatric assessment, and supportive care measures in older patients with DLBCL will be reviewed, and recommendations for assessment and allied care made., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objectives: The multidimensional geriatric assessment (MGA) detects impairments in the elderly and forms the basis for individualized treatment algorithms. Screening tools have been developed to detect patients in need of a full assessment. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the discriminative power and the prognostic impact of the screening scores for the Physical Performance Test (PPT) and the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13)., Materials and Methods: In 77 patients with cancer aged ≥60years (median 74years) from the Department of Internal Medicine V, Innsbruck Medical University, VES-13 and PPT were performed and compared with data from MGA and clinical outcomes., Results: Overall, of the 77 patients 70% was deemed impaired, as defined by impairments in two or more scores of the MGA. The VES-13 showed 42% to be impaired, the PPT 79%. Using a cut-off of ≤19, the PPT exhibited better discriminative power than did the standard PPT (≤20). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of VES-13, PPT≤20 and PPT≤19 in the detection of impairments were 56% (88%, 82%), 91% (45%, 75%), 94% (80%, 89%), and 45% (60%, 63%) respectively. The area under the curve was 0.73 (0.67, 0.79), respectively. Both impaired VES-13 and PPT significantly correlated with an unfavorable overall survival in both uni- and multivariate analysis., Conclusion: PPT (≤19) reveals favorable sensitivity, NPV and overall accuracy in elderly patients with cancer. Still, the NPV is too low to sufficiently discriminate between fit and frail patients. Both PPT and VES-13 are useful predictors for survival., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are typical diseases of the elderly. The clinical outcome of a well-characterized cohort of patients with MDS was analyzed for prevalence and impact of comorbidities to establish the basis for tailored treatment algorithms. Focus was on age- and sex-related differences., Material and Methods: The hematopoietic cell transplantation-comorbidity index (HCT-CI) was assessed in 616 well-defined patients from the Austrian MDS platform (median age: 71years)., Results: Most patients displayed one (24.5%) or more (23.7%) comorbidities. The highest frequencies were observed for cardiovascular disease (28.4%), diabetes (12.2%), and prior tumors (9.9%). Comorbidities were more frequent (mean number: 0.92 vs. 0.74 [male vs. female]; p=0.030) and more severe in men than in women (mean HCT-CI score: 1.41 vs. 1.09 [male vs. female]; p=0.016). Elderly patients (65+years) showed a higher prevalence of comorbidities than younger patients (HCT-CI score: 1.52, mean in 65+, vs. 0.24 and 0.76 in <45years and 46-65years, respectively) (p<0.001). These differences were most pronounced for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and prior tumors (p<0.001). Presence of cardiac arrhythmia or prior solid tumor was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (p=0.023, 0.024, respectively). Moreover, HCT-CI risk grouping remained an independent prognostic parameter for survival in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: Comorbidities impact clinical outcome in elderly patients with MDS. Distinct diseases cluster in an age- and sex-related manner, which may have clinical implications when designing individualized therapies. Comorbidities should be evaluated with established scores and integrated in decision making., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)