Deployment of Teleconsulting in Geriatric Oncology for Older Patients (TeleOncoGe)

February 3, 2026 updated by: Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille

Deployment of Teleconsulting in Geriatric Oncology for Patients Aged 75years or Older Initiating an Oncologic Treatment and Living in Remote Area With no or Few Access to Geriatric Oncology Evaluation Nearby Their Oncologic Treatment Center

Cancer affects mostly older adults. The development of Geriatric Oncology has greatly improved the management of older patients with the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments (CGA) being conducted before cancer treatment. A CGA encompasses several dimensions such as comorbidities, but also functional, nutritional or cognitive domains. The International guidelines recommended establishing cooperation with pharmacists as part of the CGA in order to review prescriptions of older patients with cancer and to avoid adverse side effects of treatment. However, the CGA before starting oncological treatment offer is limited in France, especially in some regions which are less populated, or where access to medical centers are difficult. The main objective of our work is to evaluate the impact of telemedicine in geriatric oncology consultation of unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 3 months in the acute care unit. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 6 months, on the secondary toxicities, on the postoperative complications in patients treated surgically, on the overall survival and on the acceptance of the pharmaceutical recommendations by the physicians, but also the impact of telemedicine in medico-economic terms and the satisfaction of patients and oncologists benefiting from teleconsultation.

It is a multicenter, prospective, randomized study involving 500 patients in 9 participating centers, including 6 peripheral hospitals. The experiment will be represented by the implementation of telemedicine in oncology centers where this expertise is not very available, allowing them to benefit from geriatric oncology teleconsultation and pharmaceutical tele-expertise carried out by three university hospitals. Patients recruited by oncologists, according to the inclusion criteria, will give their written consent to participate. Centers were randomized. In the control arm, patients will be treated according to the usual oncological management as defined for each type of cancer. In the interventional arm, patients will benefit from a CGA with a geriatric oncology teleconsultation as well as a pharmaceutical tele-expertise before the initiation of oncological treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cancer affects nearly 50% of people over 65 years. The development of Geriatric Oncology has greatly improved the management of older patients with the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments (CGA) being conducted before cancer treatment. A CGA encompasses several dimensions such as comorbidities, functional, nutritional or cognitive domains. This practice aims to guarantee adapted oncological treatment to their frailties through a multidisciplinary and multi-professional approach. The International guidelines recommended establishing cooperation with pharmacists as part of the CGA in order to review prescriptions of older patients with cancer and avoid adverse side effects of treatment. However, the CGA before starting oncological treatment offer is limited in France, especially in some regions which are less populated, or where access to medical centers are difficult for older patients. Telemedicine is developing in France and is particularly intended for rural populations in order to facilitate access to specialized consultations. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic episode has clearly enabled to develop telemedicine in hospitals. The main objective of our work is to evaluate the impact of telemedicine in geriatric oncology consultation on the unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 3 months in the acute care unit. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on the unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 6 months, on the secondary toxicities of oncological treatments, on the postoperative complications in patients treated surgically, on the overall survival and on the acceptance of the pharmaceutical recommendations by the physicians, but also on medico-economic terms and on satisfaction of patients and oncologists benefiting from teleconsultation.

It is a multicenter, prospective, randomized study involving 500 patients in 9 participating centers, including 6 peripheral hospitals. The experiment will be represented by the implementation of telemedicine in oncology centers where this expertise is not very available, allowing them to benefit from geriatric oncology teleconsultation and pharmaceutical tele-expertise carried out by three university hospitals. Patients recruited by oncologists, according to the inclusion and non-inclusion criteria, will give their written consent to participate. Centers will be randomized into two arms. In the control arm, patients will be treated according to the usual oncological management as defined for each type of cancer. In the interventional arm, patients will benefit from a CGA with a geriatric oncology teleconsultation as well as a pharmaceutical tele-expertise before the initiation of oncological treatment.

The methodology and analysis plan will be based on the criteria developed by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials Statement (CONSORT) group and more specifically on the extension concerning cluster studies. The expected benefits are a reduction of unexplained re-hospitalizations rate and of inequalities concerning access to care for older patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

500

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • France
      • Avignon, France
        • Recruiting
        • Ch Avignon
        • Contact:
          • Sylvie KIRSCHER, PhD

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

75 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients 75 years and older
  • Suffering from all types and all stages of cancer and treated for cancer in participating centers
  • G8 (screening tool) ≤ 14/17
  • Agreeing to benefit from a geriatric oncology assessment
  • Having signed a consent
  • Affiliated to French social security or a similar French solidarity scheme

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients under guardianship or curatorship or inability to sign consent
  • Patients with severe cognitive impairment (MMSE < 10/30)
  • Patients with severe hearing or visual impairments as these patients will have difficulty performing the telemedicine consultation
  • Patients with a significant language barrier without an interpreter present because these patients will have difficulty carrying out the Telemedicine consultation
  • Patients with expectancy less than 3 months

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

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental arm with oncology tele-consultation and pharmaceutical tele-expertise
patients will benefit from geriatric oncology tele-consultation and pharmaceutical tele-expertise
Other: Geriatric oncology tele-consultation and pharmaceutical tele-expertise
tele consultation
No Intervention: Conventional care
patients will benefit from conventional care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of the impact of telemedicine in geriatric oncology on the unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 3 months in the medicine-surgery-oncology-acute care units (with or without going through the emergency department).
Time Frame: Three months after inclusion
Unexplained re-hospitalization rate at 3 months
Three months after inclusion

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anne-Laure COUDERC, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM)

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 (Actual)

October 18, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 18, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 18, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 9, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

November 17, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RCAPHM21_0428
  • 2021-A02984-37 (Registry Identifier: IdRCB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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