Geriatric Radiation Oncology: Partnering with and Personalizing Cancer Care for Older Adults

Several national societies' guidelines, including NCCN and ASCO, recommend screening of older adults with cancer with comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) or similar tools. Recent large randomized controlled trials have found management of issues identified on geriatric screening tools is associated with improved tolerance of cancer treatment and decreased toxicity. Radiation oncologists may see a greater portion of older patients who are deemed ineligible for surgery or systemic therapy. It is critical for radiation oncologists to understand how best to screen older patients with cancer and how best to personalize management in a multidisciplinary setting. As the population continues to age, there is a great opportunity for radiation oncologists to become informed and educated in treatment of older patients who may not tolerate surgery or systemic therapy.

Topics:

  1. Management of the Older Patient Receiving Cancer Treatment and Impact on Outcomes
    Kavita V. Dharmarajan, MD, MS
  2. Screening for Frailty Using Clinical and Artificial Intelligence Tools
    Raymond K. Mak, MD
  3. Geriatric Radiation Oncology: Practical Tools for Practicing Clinicians
    Noam VanderWalde, MD, MS
  4. Q and A
    Full Panel

This activity is available from February 20, 2024, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on February 19, 2026. 

This activity was originally recorded at the 2023 ASTRO Annual Meeting.

Target Audience

The activity is designed to meet the interests of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, nurses, radiation dosimetrists, radiation therapists, biologists, residents, geriatricians and primary care providers. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Describe barriers to care for older adults with cancer.
  • Determine the difference between a "fit" older adult versus a "frail" older adult using Geriatric screening tools.
  • Identify specific clinical scenarios where radiation therapy management is specifically impacted by issues specific to older patients. 
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education for physicians. ASTRO designates this for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
    This activity was designated for 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Course opens: 
02/20/2024
Course expires: 
02/19/2026
Cost:
$149.00
Rating: 
0
  • Anurag Saraf, MD, is employed by Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
  • Raymond H. Mak, MD, is employed by Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Mak receives research funding from ViewRay and NIH. He sits on the advisory board of ViewRay and AstraZeneca. He serves a a consultant and/or receives honoraria from Varian Medical Systems, Sio Capital Management, Novartis, AAPM, and Springer Nature.   
  • Kavita Vyas Dharmarajan, MD, MS, is employed by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She receives research funding from NIH. 
  • Noam A. VanderWalde, MD, MS, is employed by West Cancer Center and Research Institute. He receives travel expenses from Alpha Tau Medical.
     

The person(s) above served as the developer(s) of this activity. Additionally, the Education Committee had control over the content of this activity. All relevant relationships have been mitigated.

Disclosure link: 
Committee Disclosures

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing education to physicians.

ASTRO is awarded Deemed Status by the American Board of Radiology to provide SA-CME as part of Part II Maintenance of Certification. 

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education for physicians. ASTRO designates this for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
    This activity was designated for 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Price

Cost:
$149.00
Please login or register to take this course.

Course Fees:
ASTRO members must log in to the ASTRO website to view and receive the member rate.

Nonmember: $149
Member: $99
Member-in-training: $49
Student/Grad Student/PGY: $49
Postdoctoral Fellow: $49
 

Policies:
No refunds, extensions, or substitutions will be made for those participants who, for any reason, have not completed the course by the end of the qualification date. The qualification date for each course is listed in the course catalog on the ASTRO website under availability.

Participants using ASTRO's online courses to satisfy the requirement of a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program should verify the number, type and availability dates of any course before making a purchase. No refunds, extensions, or substitutions will be made for participants who have purchased courses that do not align with their MOC requirement.

The course and its materials will only be available on the ASTRO website until February 19, 2026, regardless of purchase date. At the expiration of the qualification, participants will no longer have access to the course or its materials. ASTRO reserves the right to remove a course before the end of its qualification period.

Required Hardware/software

One of the two latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari.