Older adults
Chair: Lissandra Dal Lago & Paolo Bossi
The Task Force aims to support the activities of the Older Adult Council (OAC) whose mission is to promote clinical and translational research in older patients with cancer both within EORTC and beyond.
Discover the Task Force: Interview with Paolo Bossi
The main objective is to support the OAC regarding the research questions to address and its activities in the following areas:
- Implementation of geriatric assessments in clinical research with impact on patient care Development of translational research projects
- Clinical research & education activities
- Partnership with EORTC disease-oriented groups and others (International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), European Medicines Agency (EMA), industry, policy makers …)
The task force brings together a broad range of stakeholders, including oncologists (medical, radiation oncologists and surgeons) and researchers.
To achieve these objectives, the OAC has created three working groups:
- Geriatric assessment working group focuses on the development of the frailty index and contributes to the validation of ELFI (Elderly Functional Index) and identification of quantifiable factors for patient preference, in collaboration with the EORTC Quality-of-Life Group.
- Translational research working group aims at exploring translational research to address toxicity prediction and identify candidates for treatment de-escalation.Educational working group: to address methodology of trials for older adults such as end-points, use of geriatric assessment tools, evaluation of frailty.
The task force is also involved in preparatory work for the upcoming workshop with EMA devoted to older cancer patients.
