MDS patient registries - achievements and challenges.

Since the late 1980s, patient registries have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of rare diseases. For myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), they revealed the disease actually to be diverse rather than rare. Registry data enabled the definition of various MDS subtypes and prognostic scores tailoring therapy. These classifications have been revised and refined several times, and the differential diagnosis of MDS has become increasingly complex. At the same time, the diagnosis has been made more commonly and no longer by specialized centers of expertise only. Consequently, several registries have collected data with different focuses and from different patient subpopulations. The current review presents three MDS registries and their rationale, scope, design, and achievements. All three complement each other and will remain a mainstay to advance the knowledge on MDS as well as to validate the outcomes of clinical trials. However, delineation of subtypes after the most recent WHO and IPC revisions, as well as the determination of the newest risk score M of the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-M), no longer just shift cut-offs but are based on multivariate compilations of highly specific genetic information. This paradigm shift involves challenging registries with respect to the assignment of all patients for whom this information has not yet been available.

A Phase 4 Study of Everolimus to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety in Patients with Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma after Failure of First-Line Sunitinib or Pazopanib (SUNPAZ).

INTRODUCTION: Sunitinib and pazopanib are both standard first-line therapies for clear-cell metastatic renal-cell carcinoma (mRCC). Everolimus is a well-established second-line treatment. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the efficacy and safety of second-line everolimus following pazopanib or sunitinib. METHODS: SUNPAZ was an open-label, phase 4 clinical trial of everolimus in patients with clear-cell mRCC progressing after first-line sunitinib or pazopanib. The primary end point was the number of patients without progression 6 months after starting everolimus. Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and overall response rate. Enrollment was terminated early due to slow recruitment; all analyses are descriptive. RESULTS: Patients who received prior sunitinib (n = 16) or pazopanib (n = 13) were enrolled. One of 12 patients in the sunitinib group and 6/13 patients in the pazopanib group were progression-free by month 6 in the full analysis set. Median PFS in the sunitinib and pazopanib groups was 2.8 and 8.0 months, and median OS was 14.8 months and 20.4 months, respectively. Fifteen patients in the sunitinib group and 13 in the pazopanib group experienced adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Safety and efficacy results confirm the second-line everolimus profile. However, baseline differences in patient populations should be taken into consideration.

[Results of a Pilot Study to Assess Quality Indicators in Outpatient Cancer Care]. / Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie zur Erfassung von Qualitätsindikatoren in der ambulanten onkologischen Versorgung.

AIMS: Indicators of process quality were developed for outpatient oncology care in Germany with the aim to advance quality monitoring and assurance. In this pilot study, data to assess these quality indicators (QI) were gathered and analyzed for the first time. METHODS: Data were retrieved from patient records in oncology practices using an online data tool. Data were collected by practice-internal and in 7 (wave 1), 9 (wave 2) and 7 (wave 3) practices, respectively, by an external documentalist. RESULTS: Altogether, 5,160 patient records from 37 oncology practices were analyzed. The adherence rates varied considerably between QI as well as between practices (0-100%). In summary, adherence rates were higher for QI of basis documentation (81%) than for therapy planning and implementation (72%), holistic care and psychosocial wellbeing (71%) or pain management (63%). CONCLUSION: The ranges and high standard deviations show a high spread of adherence rates of QI. However, except for pain management, 100% fulfilment of QI requirements in some practices suggests that adherence to QI is generally feasible. Data collection for QI is resource intensive (time and personnel). Yet, collecting and examining data for QI provides useful information about areas with potential for improvement. QI can help improve the quality of care in oncology.

Impact of performance status and transfusion dependency on outcome of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia treated with azacitidine (PIAZA study).

OBJECTIVE: Azacitidine (Vidaza® ) is the standard treatment for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) not eligible for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. In the noninterventional study PIAZA, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of azacitidine treatment in 149 patients with higher-risk MDS, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in routine clinical practice. METHOD: Patients were treated according to physician's discretion. Besides evaluation of safety and effectiveness, impact of covariates on progression-free survival (PFS) was assessed. RESULTS: Median age of patients was 75 years. 61.1% of patients were diagnosed with MDS, 31.5% with AML and 7.4% with CMML. Patients were treated with azacitidine for a median of seven cycles. Median PFS was 10.9 months. Median OS was 14.1 months. Two-year survival rate was 28.9%. 45.9% of patients showed CR or PR. Stable and progressive disease were observed in 37.2% and 8% of patients, respectively. Transfusion independence was reported in 64 of 89 patients. Eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG) performance status (PS) and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion before azacitidine therapy were identified as predictive factors for PFS. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we estimated the duration of PFS in a real-world setting and identified ECOG PS and RBC transfusion as predictive factors for PFS. The safety of azacitidine showed a similar profile as demonstrated in the pivotal clinical trials.

Systemic therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Current systemic treatment of targeted therapies, namely the vascular endothelial growth factor-antibody (VEGF-AB), VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors, have improved progression-free survival and replaced non-specific immunotherapy with cytokines in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). METHODS: A panel of experts convened to review currently available phase 3 data for mRCC treatment of approved agents, in addition to available EAU guideline data for a collaborative review as the plurality of substances offers different options of first-, second- and third-line treatment with potential sequencing. RESULTS: Sunitinib and pazopanib are approved treatments in first-line therapy for patients with favorable- or intermediate-risk clear cell RCC (ccRCC). Temsirolimus has proven benefit over interferon-alfa (IFN-α) in patients with non-clear cell RCC (non-ccRCC). In the second-line treatment TKIs or mTOR inhibitors are treatment choices. Therapy options after TKI failure consist of everolimus and axitinib. Available third-line options consist of everolimus and sorafenib. Recently, nivolumab, a programmed death-1 (PD1) checkpoint inhibitor, improved overall survival benefit compared to everolimus after failure of one or two VEGFR-targeted therapies, which is likely to become the first established checkpoint inhibitor in mRCC. Data for the sequencing of agents remain limited. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high level of evidence for first and second-line treatment in mRCC, data for third-line therapy are limited. Possible sequences include TKI-mTOR-TKI or TKI-TKI-mTOR with the upcoming checkpoint inhibitors in perspective, which might settle a new standard of care after previous TKI therapy.

Recovery opportunities, work-home conflict, and emotional exhaustion among hematologists and oncologists in private practice.

Hematologists and oncologists in private practice play a central role in the care provided for cancer patients. The present study analyzes stress and relaxation aspects in the work of hematologists and oncologists in private practice in Germany in relation to emotional exhaustion, as a core dimension of burnout syndrome. The study focuses on the opportunities for internal recovery using breaks and time out during the working day, the frequency of working on weekends and on vacation, and the physician's work-home and home-work conflict. Postulated associations between the constructs were analyzed using a structural equation model. If work leads to conflicts in private life (work-home conflict), it is associated with greater emotional exhaustion. Working frequently at the weekend is associated with greater work-home conflict and indirectly with greater emotional exhaustion. By contrast, the availability of opportunities to relax and recover during the working day is associated with less work-home conflict and indirectly with less emotional exhaustion. These results underline the importance of internal recovery opportunities during the working day and a successful interplay between working and private life for the health of outpatient hematologists and oncologists.

Patients' Trust in Physician, Patient Enablement, and Health-Related Quality of Life During Colon Cancer Treatment.

In cancer care, where patients and their families experience significant emotional distress and patients have to deal with complex medical information, patient centeredness is an important aspect of quality of care. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of patients' trust in their oncologists and patients' enablement on changes in health-related quality of life of colon cancer patients during follow-up care. We conducted a prospective study in a representative sample of private practices of German oncologists (N = 44). Patients (N = 131) filled out a standardized questionnaire prior to their first consultation (T0), directly after the first consultation (T1) and after two months (T2). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Significant associations were found between trust in physician and changes in physical functioning between T1 and T2, and between trust in physician and patient enablement. Patient enablement is significantly associated with changes in physical functioning between T1 and T2. The results underline the importance of building a close and trustful patient-physician relationship in the oncology encounter. A central mechanism of the association between the quality of the relationship and health outcomes seems to be patient enablement. To enable patients to cope with their situation by making them understand their diagnosis, treatments, and side effects can impact health-related quality of life in physical domains.

The initial clinical interview--can it reduce cancer patients' fear?

PURPOSE: A common phenomenon among cancer patients is a fear of cancer recurrence or cancer progression (FOP). The aim of the present study was to analyze whether the oncologist is able to reduce patients' FOP at the initial clinical interview. METHOD: A prospective, longitudinal study included patients who were consulting private-practice oncologists in Germany for the first time. Recruitment was carried out by 44 members of the Professional Organization of Office-Based Hematologists and Oncologists. In the patient surveys, data on colon cancer patients' perceptions of communications with their oncologist and on patient-reported outcomes were collected over a period of 6 months. The present study analyzed the patients' data before their first consultation (T 0) and within 3 days after the first consultation (T 1). RESULTS: A total of 169 patients agreed to participate in the study. Backwards multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the change (T 0-T 1) in FOP is associated with demographic, medical, or psychosocial determinants, or with the physician-patient communication. A significant association was found between the change in FOP and interruptions to the conversation, the comprehensibility of the information provided, the extent of perceived empathy from the physician, and the patient's social support and family status. CONCLUSION: Private social support and the initial medical encounter can help reduce FOP. Particularly, oncologists should ensure that they facilitate the presentation of information in a comprehensible way while avoiding interruptions and that they take particular care of patients with poor social support.

Re-evaluation of laboratory predictors of response to current anemia treatment regimens of erythropoiesis stimulating agents in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is a major cause of morbidity in cancer. Erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESA) are a mainstay of treatment, although some patients lack response for unknown reasons. Recently, ESA dosing recommendations have changed and iron is increasingly used as an adjunct. Due to these changes, potential laboratory predictors of response were re-evaluated. METHODS: This was a multi-center, observational study in cancer outpatients developing anemia under standard chemotherapy without absolute iron deficiency. For up to 12 weeks, laboratory data was collected while patients were treated with darbepoetin α (DA) either alone or along with intravenous iron. Baseline erythropoietin (Epo), changes in soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and in hemoglobin (Hb) early after treatment initiation were re-evaluated as response predictors, based on logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, 279 patients (mean age 66.1 years, 59.5% female) entered the study; 171 (61%) received at least one iron dose along with DA. Response and its predictability hardly increased through adjunct iron, although baseline ferritin <100 mg/L resulted in a 10 times higher probability of response to the combination than to ESA alone. Baseline Epo had low predictive value, regardless of tumor type or use of adjunct iron, although it varied with sex and age. If criteria for all three - Epo, sTfR, and Hb - were met, probability of preventing transfusions was 97%, dropping to 44%, if all three failed. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in ESA treatment recommendations had no impact on the predictability of response. Best prediction is still based on the immediacy of Hb increase.

Treatment of cancer-associated anaemia: results from a two-day cross-sectional survey in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to re-evaluate the current prevalence and management of cancer-associated anaemia as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and related risk factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, 2-day web-based cross-sectional survey in cancer patients with non-myeloid malignancies in German outpatient clinics. RESULTS: 89 centres collected data from 3,867 patients, of whom 74% received active cancer therapy. The median age was 65 years (range 19-99 years) and almost two-thirds were women; 68% of the patients had solid tumours (breast 34%, colorectal 17%, lung 8%), with 56% of them being metastatic; 73% had a WHO performance score of ≤ 1. The mean haemoglobin level was 12.0 ± 1.7 g/dl (± standard deviation; range 4.3-17.8 g/dl); the prevalence of levels below 12.0 g/dl was 49%. Two-thirds of these patients were not treated for anaemia; one-third received erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (12.6%), iron therapy (8.1%), transfusions (7.5%) or combinations thereof (8.0%) during the 4 weeks before evaluation. Chemotherapy, female sex, age and poor performance status were identified as significant anaemia-associated factors. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of untreated anaemia and the decreased performance status of cancer patients in Germany have hardly changed since the European Cancer Anaemia Survey (ECAS) in 2001. The treatment practice may not only be driven by guidelines and does not yet reflect new concepts of anaemia management.

Bendamustine plus mitoxantrone for relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL): results of a multicentre phase II study of the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG).

The efficacy of bendamustine (50 mg/m², days 1-3) plus mitoxantrone (10 mg/m², day 1), every 28 days for up to four courses, was evaluated in a Phase II multicentre trial enrolling 59 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Major toxicities were grade 3/4 leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and infections in 42%, 12% and 12% of patients, respectively. Complete and partial response was achieved in 5/59 and 25/29 patients, respectively (overall response rate, 51%). Median time to progression was 22 months (range 1-49 + ) and median survival 27 months (range 0-49 + ). The combination of bendamustine and mitoxantrone is an active regime in relapsed or refractory CLL.

Load-dependent kinetics of myosin-V can explain its high processivity.

Recent studies provide strong evidence that single myosin class V molecules transport vesicles and organelles processively along F-actin, taking several 36-nm steps, 'hand over hand', for each diffusional encounter. The mechanisms regulating myosin-V's processivity remain unknown. Here, we have used an optical-tweezers-based transducer to measure the effect of load on the mechanical interactions between rabbit skeletal F-actin and a single head of mouse brain myosin-V, which produces its working stroke in two phases. We found that the lifetimes of the first phase of the working stroke changed exponentially and about 10-fold over a range of pushing and pulling forces of +/- 1.5 pN. Stiffness measurements suggest that intramolecular forces could approach 3.6 pN when both heads are bound to F-actin, in which case extrapolation would predict the detachment kinetics of the front head to slow down 50-fold and the kinetics of the rear head to accelerate respectively. This synchronizing effect on the chemo-mechanical cycles of the heads increases the probability of the trail head detaching first and causes a strong increase in the number of forward steps per diffusional encounter over a system with no strain dependence.

Malaria parasite actin polymerization and filament structure.

A novel form of acto-myosin regulation has been proposed in which polymerization of new actin filaments regulates motility of parasites of the apicomplexan class of protozoa. In vivo and in vitro parasite F-actin is very short and unstable, but the structural basis and details of filament dynamics remain unknown. Here, we show that long actin filaments can be obtained by polymerizing unlabeled rabbit skeletal actin (RS-actin) onto both ends of the short rhodamine-phalloidin-stabilized Plasmodium falciparum actin I (Pf-actin) filaments. Following annealing, hybrid filaments of micron length and "zebra-striped" appearance are observed by fluorescence microscopy that are stable enough to move over myosin class II motors in a gliding filament assay. Using negative stain electron microscopy we find that pure Pf-actin stabilized by jasplakinolide (JAS) also forms long filaments, indistinguishable in length from RS-actin filaments, and long enough to be characterized structurally. To compare structures in near physiological conditions in aqueous solution we imaged Pf-actin and RS-actin filaments by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We found the monomer stacking to be distinctly different for Pf-actin compared with RS-actin, such that the pitch of the double helix of Pf-actin filaments was 10% larger. Our results can be explained by a rotational angle between subunits that is larger in the parasite compared with RS-actin. Modeling of the AFM data using high-resolution actin filament models supports our interpretation of the data. The structural differences reported here may be a consequence of weaker inter- and intra-strand contacts, and may be critical for differences in filament dynamics and for regulation of parasite motility.

Load-dependent kinetics of force production by smooth muscle myosin measured with optical tweezers.

Muscle contraction is driven by the cyclical interaction of myosin with actin, coupled with ATP hydrolysis. Myosin attaches to actin, forming a crossbridge that produces force and movement as it tilts or rocks into subsequent bound states before finally detaching. It has been hypothesized that the kinetics of one or more of these mechanical transitions are dependent on load, allowing muscle to shorten quickly under low load, but to sustain tension economically, with slowly cycling crossbridges under high load conditions. The idea that muscle biochemistry depends on mechanical output is termed the 'Fenn effect'. However, the molecular details of how load affects the kinetics of a single crossbridge are unknown. Here, we describe a new technique based on optical tweezers to rapidly apply force to a single smooth muscle myosin crossbridge. The crossbridge produced movement in two phases that contribute 4 nm + 2 nm of displacement. Duration of the first phase depended in an exponential manner on the amplitude of applied load. Duration of the second phase was much less affected by load, but was significantly shorter at high ATP concentration. The effect of load on the lifetime of the bound crossbridge is to prolong binding when load is high, but to accelerate release when load is low or negative.

Biosimilar agents in oncology/haematology: from approval to practice.

The regulation of biosimilars is a process that is still developing. In Europe, guidance regarding the approval and use of biosimilars has evolved with the products under consideration. It is now more than 3 years since the first biosimilar agents in oncology support, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, were approved in the EU. More recently, biosimilar granulocyte colony-stimulating factors have received marketing approval in Europe. This review considers general issues surrounding the introduction of biosimilars and highlights current specific issues pertinent to their use in clinical practice in oncology. Information on marketing approval, extrapolation, labelling, substitution, immunogenicity and traceability of each biosimilar product is important, especially in oncology where patients are treated in repeated therapy courses, often with complicated protocols, and where biosimilars are not used as a unique therapy for replacement of e.g. growth hormone or insulin. While future developments in the regulation of biosimilars will need to address multiple issues, in the interim physicians should remain aware of the inherent differences between biosimilar and innovator products.

Drug effect unveils inter-head cooperativity and strain-dependent ADP release in fast skeletal actomyosin.

Amrinone is a bipyridine compound with characteristic effects on the force-velocity relationship of fast skeletal muscle, including a reduction in the maximum shortening velocity and increased maximum isometric force. Here we performed experiments to elucidate the molecular mechanisms for these effects, with the additional aim to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the force-velocity relationship. In vitro motility assays established that amrinone reduces the sliding velocity of heavy meromyosin-propelled actin filaments by 30% at different ionic strengths of the assay solution. Stopped-flow studies of myofibrils, heavy meromyosin and myosin subfragment 1, showed that the effects on sliding speed were not because of a reduced rate of ATP-induced actomyosin dissociation because the rate of this process was increased by amrinone. Moreover, optical tweezers studies could not detect any amrinone-induced changes in the working stroke length. In contrast, the ADP affinity of acto-heavy meromyosin was increased about 2-fold by 1 mm amrinone. Similar effects were not observed for acto-subfragment 1. Together with the other findings, this suggests that the amrinone-induced reduction in sliding velocity is attributed to inhibition of a strain-dependent ADP release step. Modeling results show that such an effect may account for the amrinone-induced changes of the force-velocity relationship. The data emphasize the importance of the rate of a strain-dependent ADP release step in influencing the maximum sliding velocity in fast skeletal muscle. The data also lead us to discuss the possible importance of cooperative interactions between the two myosin heads in muscle contraction.

A new concept for the differential diagnosis and therapy of anaemia in cancer patients.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to prove the usefulness of the diagnostic plot, using the haemoglobin content of reticulocytes as a measure of functional iron deficiency (FID) and the ferritin index as a measure of iron availability, to customise anaemia treatment in cancer patients. METHODS: Based on results of this plot, cancer patients fulfilling practice guideline criteria to receive erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) were allocated to treatment with ESAs alone, iron alone or the combination of both. Primary endpoint was the percentage of patients identified to require iron in addition or as an alternative to ESA therapy. RESULTS: Out of 303 patients screened, 286 were allocated to treatment: 204 patients were normochromic and iron replete and treated with ESAs alone, 22 had both FID and anaemia of chronic disease and were treated with ESAs and parenteral iron, and 60 were iron-depleted and treated with iron only. After 8 weeks, a haemoglobin increase >1 g/dL from baseline was shown by 56% of patients treated with ESAs alone, by 100% of patients receiving the combination, by 50% of normochromic and by 73% of hypochromic iron-depleted patients receiving iron only. Acute phase reaction did not diminish the response rate to ESAs. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic plot was superior to transferrin saturation and ferritin in predicting iron availability in hypochromic patients treated with ESAs and proved useful to select treatment for anaemia in cancer patients.

Anagrelide for the treatment of thrombocythaemia in daily clinical practice: a post-marketing observational survey on efficacy and safety performed in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Myeloproliferative diseases - in particular essential thrombocythaemia (ET) - may be associated with increases in platelet count which put patients at risk of life-threatening complications such as thromboses and severe bleedings. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multicentre post-marketing observational survey was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of anagrelide under daily practice conditions in at-risk patients with ET who received anagrelide for the first time. RESULTS: 198 patients (median age of 64 years, range 19-88 years) were included, 61.1% of the patients were women. The mean observation time was 6.2 +/- 1.7 months. Treatment with anagrelide lowered the platelet counts by a median of 316 x 10(9)/l from a median of 797 x 10(9)/l at the beginning of the observation to 470 x 10(9)/l at the last observation (log rank test, p < 0.001). Disease-related complications were reduced during treatment compared to 6 months prior to treatment (transient ischaemic attacks from 1.5 to 0.5%; thromboses from 7.6 to 0%). The number of bleedings remained the same at 1.5%. Adverse events were documented in 46 patients (23.2%). All observed adverse events were similar to those previously reported in clinical studies. CONCLUSION: Anagrelide was effective in lowering the platelet count and was also well tolerated when used in daily clinical practice.

Degree of pineal calcification (DOC) is associated with polysomnographic sleep measures in primary insomnia patients.

OBJECTIVE: Melatonin plays a key role in the proper functioning of the circadian timing system (CTS), and exogenous melatonin has been shown to be beneficial in cases of CTS and sleep disturbances. Nevertheless, the concept of "melatonin deficit" has yet to be defined. The aim of our study was, therefore, to determine the relationship between the degree of pineal calcification (DOC) and a range of sleep parameters measured objectively using polysomnography (PSG). METHODS: A total of 31 outpatients (17 women, 14 men, mean age 45.9 years; SD 14.4) with primary insomnia were included in our study. Following an adaptation night, a PSG recording night was performed in the sleep laboratory. Urine samples were collected at predefined intervals over a 32-h period that included both PSG nights. The measurement of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) levels was determined using ELISA. DOC and volume of calcified pineal tissue (CPT) and uncalcified pineal tissue (UPT) were estimated by means of cranial computed tomography. RESULTS: UPT was positively associated with 24-h aMT6s excretion (r=0.569; P=0.002), but CPT was not. After controlling for age, aMT6s parameters, CPT, and UPT did not correlate with any of the PSG parameters evaluated. In contrast, DOC was negatively associated with REM sleep percentage (r=-0.567, P=0.001), total sleep time (r=-0.463, P=0.010), and sleep efficiency (r=-0.422, P=0.020). CONCLUSION: DOC appears to be a superior indicator of melatonin deficit compared to the absolute amount of melatonin in the circulation. High DOC values indicate changes predominantly in the PSG parameters governed by the circadian timing system. DOC may thus serve as a marker of CTS instability.

[Care requirements for elderly cancer patients]. / Erfordernisse älterer Tumorpatienten vor dem Hintergrund der Versorgungsrealität.

The oncology care system is insufficiently directed to the treatment situation of elderly tumour patients. There is a lack of specific studies focusing on the application and effects of antineoplastic substances in elderly patients to forward the utilisation of all available therapeutical options. The reality of care of elderly patients, especially elderly women, is marked by problems of access to the treatment opportunities. Questions of social support have to be raised. A specialised geriatric assessment in oncology can improve diagnostic preconditions in the treatment of the elderly. Restrictions of activities of daily living, comorbidities, cognitive handicaps, and malnutrition are to be surveyed among all patients > 70 years of age. Studies for the systematic involvement of assessments in the treatment routine are necessary. The cooperation of geriatricians and oncologists has to become a more routine process to work out diagnosis and treatment standards for elderly cancer patients. The oncology care system has to meet the challenge of providing adequate care which links specialised tumour treatment with palliative care, especially for elderly patients with advanced tumour diseases.