Assessing Older Patients With Cancer

July 12, 2016 updated by: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology

Development of a Geriatric Assessment Measure for Older Patients With Cancer

RATIONALE: Questionnaires that measure the ability of older patients to think, learn, remember, and make judgments and carry out daily activities may improve the ability to plan treatment for patients with cancer.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying ways to assess older patients with cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

  • Determine the feasibility of administration of the geriatric assessment in elderly patients with cancer.
  • Determine the percentage of patients able to complete the self-administered portion of the geriatric assessment without assistance.
  • Determine the length of time necessary to complete the geriatric assessment.
  • Determine the variance and number of missing items.
  • Assess patient satisfaction with the questionnaire by identifying items that are distressing or difficult to comprehend.
  • Assess the percentage of geriatric assessments that contain all three of the following items: Timed Up and Go Assessment, Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test, and healthcare professional-rated Karnofsky performance status.

Secondary

  • Determine the proportion of patients who are able to complete the self-report portion of the questionnaire without assistance and the length of time needed to complete the geriatric assessment within patients of various sociodemographic factors and educational status.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to age (65 to 69 years vs 70 years and over).

Patients undergo assessments of cognition using the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test; functional status using the Timed Up and Go Assessment (measures physical mobility); and performance status using the healthcare professional-rated Karnofsky performance scale. These assessments are performed by healthcare personnel. Body mass index and the percentage of unintentional weight loss and the number of falls in the past 6 months are also assessed.

Patients also complete the following self-administered questionnaires: Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (measures level of functioning and need for services); Activities of Daily Living (measures higher levels of physical functioning); Karnofsky Self-Reported Performance Rating Scale (related to survival and clinically significant illness); Physical Health Section of the Older American Resources and Services Questionnaire (measures comorbidity and the impact on daily activities); Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Activity Limitations Measure (measures the impact of cancer on patients' social functioning); and MOS Social Support Survey Emotional/Information and Tangible Subscales (measures perceived availability of social support).

Patients then begin planned treatment.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

93

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Indiana
      • Elkhart, Indiana, United States, 46515
        • Elkhart General Hospital
      • Kokomo, Indiana, United States, 46904
        • Howard Community Hospital
      • La Porte, Indiana, United States, 46350
        • Center for Cancer Therapy at LaPorte Hospital and Health Services
      • South Bend, Indiana, United States, 46601
        • Memorial Hospital of South Bend
      • South Bend, Indiana, United States, 46601
        • CCOP - Northern Indiana CR Consortium
      • South Bend, Indiana, United States, 46617
        • Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center
      • South Bend, Indiana, United States, 46601
        • Michiana Hematology-Oncology, PC - South Bend
    • Michigan
      • St. Joseph, Michigan, United States, 49085
        • Lakeland Regional Cancer Care Center - St. Joseph
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89102
        • University Medical Center of Southern Nevada
      • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89106
        • CCOP - Nevada Cancer Research Foundation
    • New York
      • East Syracuse, New York, United States, 13057
        • CCOP - Hematology-Oncology Associates of Central New York
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210-1240
        • Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged 65 years and older with a histologically confirmed malignancy enrolled on any cooperative group-sponsored cancer treatment trial.

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Histologically confirmed malignancy at any stage
  • Enrolled on any cooperative group-sponsored cancer treatment trial (treatment has not yet started), including trials on the Cancer Trials Support Unit

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Any performance status allowed
  • Must be able to follow directions in English
  • Sufficient cognitive and psychological function to give consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

  • See Disease Characteristics

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Patient assessment

Patients undergo assessments of cognition and performance status using the healthcare professional-rated Karnofsky performance scale. These assessments are performed by healthcare personnel. Body mass index and the percentage of unintentional weight loss and the number of falls in the past 6 months are also assessed.

Patients also complete self-administered questionnaires that measure level of functioning and need for services. It also includes questionnaires that measure higher levels of physical functioning, performance related to survival and clinically significant illness and measures of comorbidity and the impact on daily activities. Lastly, questionnaires are administered to measure the impact of cancer on patients' social functioning and perceived availability of social support.

Patients then begin planned treatment.
Behavioral: quality of life questionnaires

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Mean and median time to complete the entire geriatric assessment
Time Frame: Up to 3 years
Up to 3 years
Mean number of missing items in each subscale and the distribution of missing items
Time Frame: Up to 3 years
Up to 3 years
Percentage of patients who identify a scale to be upsetting or difficult to understand
Time Frame: Up to 3 years
Up to 3 years
Percentage of Geriatric Assessments for which all three items (Timed Up and Go Assessment, Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test, and the healthcare professional-rated Karnofsky performance status) are completed
Time Frame: Up to 3 years
Up to 3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Alice B. Kornblith, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 27, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 27, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

December 28, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 13, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 12, 2016

Last Verified

July 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CALGB-360401
  • CDR0000523527 (Registry Identifier: NCI Physician Data Query)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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