FAIR-O
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility of frailty assessment and implementation of protocol-led geriatric interventions in women over the age of 70 with epithelial ovarian cancer in the oncology clinic (FAIR-O)
IRAS ID
263916
Contact name
Susana Banerjee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
CCR 5138, Sponsor's reference number
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Ovarian Cancer is frequently diagnosed in older women, with over half of all new diagnoses being in women over 65 years. Current treatment options are based on the results of clinical trials that often do not include older, less fit patients in whom treatments may be less well tolerated. Further, in older patients the impact of complex medical and social issues is not known. The UK lags behind Europe and the United States in the development of research programmes dedicated to improving outcomes for older patients. More research focus is urgently required to improve the assessment and management of older women with ovarian cancer to improve survival outcomes, quality of life and functional independence.
Current treatment decisions are made predominantly on age and fitness. However, it has been shown that undertaking a holistic, geriatric assessment of older patients can highlight important issues that would not necessarily be identified in a routine oncology appointment. In this study, we propose to ask oncology teams to undertake a geriatric assessment and specifically address issues that may arise as a result of this. The assessment comprises 8 simple non-invasive assessments that can be performed in the out-patient setting.
We believe this approach could result an important change in clinical practice leading to the more holistic assessment of older cancer patients to address their specific needs and enable them or their carers to better manage their cancer treatment. Our long-term goal is to show that by proactively managing potential issues at the beginning of treatment, patients can tolerate treatment better and maintain their functional independence to enable them to cope with treatment both during and afterwards which in turn will lead to improved quality of life.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1741
Date of REC Opinion
22 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion