Geriatric Oncology Initiative 
— Led by Border Medical Oncology Research Unit and La Trobe University Wodonga

THE GOAL

At the heart of caring for older adults with cancer is understanding what matters most to them.

The Geriatric Oncology (GO) ReViTALISE Initiative, led by Professor Irene Blackberry and Dr Christopher Steer, aimed to:

• Improve access among older adults to participate in oncology clinical trials
• Build capacity to conduct geriatric oncology clinical trials
• Train, mentor and recruit care providers to assist and participate in geriatric oncology trials across regional, rural and remote Victoria.
• Ensure older adults have access to quality cancer care so that they too, can enjoy more healthy, active years of life.
  
  

THE IMPACT

VIEW FULL-LENGTH VIDEO on the La Trobe University YouTube Channel

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Successful care of older adults requires a multidiciplinary approach across community, primary, secondary and tertiary care providers. The Initiative set out to train, mentor and recruit those providers to assist and participate in geriatric oncology trials across regional, rural and remote Victoria.

The Initiative has developed and delivered educational and outreach programs. Significant interest from oncology professionals enabled the Initiative to leverage diverse expertise and resources, by integrating medical professionals, academics and medical students to further important research in geriatric oncology.

Since 2022, the initiative has presented its research at four international and eight national conferences related to ageing, cancer and health services research. Members of the geriatric oncology initiative have also been invited to speak at multiple webinars, to chair international conference committees, and be guest editors for special-edition academic journals.

Research projects

Four projects were completed, including the use of wearable devices in functional assessment of older adults, implementing age-friendly principals of geriatric assessment and enhanced supportive care in regional cancer centres, ageism in oncology decision making, and setting up a registry to assess the outcomes for older adults undertaking geriatric assessment.

All of this work would not be possible without the collaboration of the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, the Care Economy Research Institute, Border Medical Oncology and Haematology, and the support of the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust.

Roadshows

The Initiative rolled out a roadshow in regional Victoria. In this presentation, the team described how the use of screening tools and geriatric assessment can help guide supportive care and assist in assessing a patient’s suitability for clinical trials. Team members shared the insights gained from the implementation of geriatric assessment and enhanced supportive care at the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre to highlight the barriers and facilitators to the process. The roadshows proved to be an excellent opportunity to explore future collaboration in clinical trials, health services research, and implementation science. 

Publication

• Real-world implementation of geriatric assessment in cancer care among older adults – Regional Trials Network Victoria