The purpose of this research is to find out the best way to reduce delirium in frail, older patients undergoing planned surgery. Delirium is a state of confusion and difficulty concentrating that is temporary. Delirium may make the person anxious, angry, sleepy, not think clearly, or hallucinate. Being frail in medicine means that the body may not easily recover from a stressor, such as surgery. This study will determine if a detailed on-going evaluation by a Geriatrician, doctor who specializes in the care of older adults, after surgery is better at decreasing the risk of delirium than simply highlighting the patient's frailty in the electronic medical record.
National guidelines recommend that older adults with cancer undergo a special health assessment before starting cancer treatment. This type of assessment evaluates physical function, nutrition, social support, psychological well-being, medical conditions (both cancer-related and non-cancer-related), and cognitive function. The results can help doctors make better treatment decisions and determine whether additional support services-such as nutrition counseling, physical therapy, or social work-would be beneficial. Even though these assessments are recommended, they are not typically used because they need to be performed by a specialist and can take over an hour to complete. Given these challenges, a 10-15-minute assessment called the Practical Geriatric Assessment (PGA) was recently developed. The PGA can be completed by any healthcare provider and helps identify older adults who may need extra support alongside their cancer treatment. While the PGA has the potential to make geriatric assessments more accessible, the investigators do not yet know whether patients will find it useful or easy to complete. Additionally, it is unclear whether using the PGA will lead to more referrals for recommended supportive care services. This study aims to address these questions. The investigators will evaluate whether using the PGA impacts the number of patients referred to recommended supportive care services. Investigators will also evaluate how participants feel about completing the PGA, including how easy or difficult it is, and to assess the feasibility of implementing this survey on a larger scale. Finally, the investigators will use facial photographs and audio-visual data from the PGA to develop and evaluate artificial intelligence algorithm(s) to identify vulnerable patients who might benefit from additional supportive care services.
The use of a geriatric assessment to inform oncologic care for older persons with cancer is an evidence-based practice that improves patient-clinician communication, reduces treatment-related toxicity, and is recommended by national guidelines. However, the implementation of a geriatric assessment can be time-consuming and burdensome, leading to suboptimal use in clinical practice. Developed and endorsed by the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Practical Geriatric Assessment (PGA) is designed to improve clinical usability and adoption, but its implementation in real-world settings has not been evaluated. The PACE-70 study aims to evaluate PGA implementation and resultant chemotherapy dose modification among older adults with advanced cancer treated in a community setting. An exploratory aim will evaluate how the PGA, body composition (via abdominal computed tomography scan) and step count monitoring (via FitBit) correlate with chemotherapy toxicity and other clinical outcomes.
This study focuses on providing an educational program for people/participants with bladder cancer who plan to have a cystectomy (surgery) as part of their standard care. Participants in this study will watch videos designed to teach them strategies to help lower their risk of experiencing negative side effects (such as mobility problems, issues with taking medication, and poor quality of life) before and after they have surgery. They will also be asked to fill out questionnaires.
By doing this study, doctors hope to learn more about factors that contribute to frailty (a condition where older adults feel weak, get tired easily, and struggle more with everyday activities) and serious side effects among men over the age of 65 who will receive androgen deprivation therapy (also called "hormone therapy") for prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of their body. Participation in this research will last about 5 years. For the first year, participants will have 5 study visits where they have give blood samples, answer survey questions, and use a wearable device. After study visits are complete, there is a 4-year follow-up period. Research team will check regular doctor visits and look at participants' medical records.
The researchers will conduct observations, interviews, and focus groups with clinicians, staff and patients of the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH) clinic, which conducts preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessments (pCGA) at UW Health to understand clinic processes and potential areas for improvement. The goal is to (1) create a process map describing clinic workflow and (2) redesign the process with healthcare providers and patients/families.
This clinical trial tests how well a geriatric assessment (GA) with GA-directed treatment recommendations, compared to GA with usual care, works in identifying risk factors, reducing chemotherapy radiation toxicity and functional decline, and improving the overall quality of life in older patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Older patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy are at an increased risk of adverse outcomes including treatment toxicity and functional and physical consequences. This makes it very challenging for the physicians to balance the benefits against the risk of chemotherapy in older cancer patients. A geriatric assessment may be useful in identifying risk factors for chemotherapy radiation toxicity. Communicating these geriatric assessment findings and assessment-based recommendations to a patient's treating physicians may help them make more informed decisions about treatment options for patients. Making treatment decisions using GA-based recommendations may reduce adverse events and improve outcomes in patients receiving treatment for NSCLC.
The goal of this study is to better understand how to best treat participants with advanced bladder cancer who may not be able to tolerate all of the chemotherapy drugs that have been shown to be effective. In this study, investigators are assessing the role of the survey, the Geriatric-8, and its ability to predict outcomes in older participants undergoing cancer treatments. Additionally, investigators are evaluating the differential impact of treatments on quality of life in an older and at risk population.
The goal of this clinical trial is to test a new way to help older adults who have had cancer. The researchers want to see if a program that assesses participants health and aging is achievable and makes a difference. A community health worker/promotora de salud will assess their health and provide coaching to help them feel better. This is important because older adults with cancer often have other health issues that are not addressed after completing treatment. The researchers want to make sure they get the care they need.
This clinical trial compares the effectiveness of geriatric assessment (GA) guided interventions to accelerate functional recovery after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy compared to standard of care (SOC) in patients 60 years and older with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or multiple myeloma (MM). A large number of patients diagnosed with cancer are over the age of 60, yet most cancer treatments are developed for younger patients. Therefore, older patients may be less likely to be offered stronger treatments, such as CAR-T therapy, due to possible side effects. Geriatric assessment is a multi-dimensional health assessment tool combining patient reported and objective measures covering physical function, mental processes (cognitive), and nutrition. Pre-treatment assessments may identify weaknesses in older adults and may guide interventions for physical therapy, cognitive changes and nutrition to decrease CAR-T therapy side effects and improve care in older adults with NHL or MM.