Role of the geriatrician, primary care practitioner, nurses, and collaboration with oncologists during cancer treatment delivery for older adults: A narrative review of the literature

Cancer is a disease that mostly affects older adults. With the aging of the population there will be a considerable increase in the number of older adults with cancer. Optimal care of the older adult with cancer requires the involvement of many types of health care providers, including oncologists, nurses, primary care practitioners, and geriatricians. In this narrative review, the literature for evidence relating to the roles of and collaboration between geriatricians, primary care practitioners, nurses, and the oncology team during cancer treatment delivery to older adults was examined. Relevant abstracts were reviewed by all team members. The full texts were reviewed to identify common themes related to roles and collaboration. The results showed that primary care practitioners felt underutilized and that the communication and collaboration between oncologists and primary care practitioners is challenging due to lack of clarity about roles and lack of timely communication/sharing of all relevant information. Furthermore, some of oncology staff, but not all, saw a need for greater collaboration between oncologists and geriatricians. The lack of availability of geriatricians limited the collaboration. Geriatric oncology nurses perceived themselves as having an important role in geriatric assessment and management, but there was no data on their collaboration with these medical specialists. There is a clear need for improvement of collaboration to improve patient outcomes. In conclusion, further research is needed to examine the impact of geriatric oncology team collaboration on the quality of cancer care, in particular, the role of nurses in supporting quality of care during treatment.