Retrospective analysis of VES-13 questionnaires in the Senior Women's Breast Cancer Clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Purpose: Vulnerable Elder Survey (VES-13) is a screening tool used in assessing older vulnerable patients at risk of functional decline. We sought to evaluate how VES-13 tool would impact oncologist referral pattern to geriatricians as our primary outcome. We also sought to better understand how VES-13 scores impacted referral to additional services (allied healthcare), and modification to oncological treatment.

Gait Speed vs. VES-13: A Pilot Study Comparing Screening Tools to Determine the Need for a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Senior Women with Breast Cancer.

Background/objectives: Patients aged 70 years and older may be suboptimally treated with cancer therapy because of the lack of clinical trial data in this population. The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment can be time consuming, and access to geriatricians is limited. This study aims to determine whether gait speed (GS) analysis is equivalent to the widely accepted Vulnerable Elders Survey 13 (VES-13) in identifying vulnerable or frail patients in need of a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment.