Cancer and Aging Research Group

Improving the care of older adults with cancer

CARG Advocacy Committee

MISSION
The CARG Advocacy Committee aims to improve the quality of care and outcomes of older adults with cancer through the identification of gaps in the quality and utilization of services and treatments accessed by this vulnerable population, with the determination to share our findings with the oncology community of clinicians, researchers and service providers, as well as policy makers and all stakeholders to ensure positive action is taken to improve infrastructures and resource allocation to directly address these gaps, and best serve older adults with cancer.

COMPOSITION

Founding Members:




Beverly Canin

Beverly Canin
Co-Chair

Karlynn BrintzenhofeSzoc, PhD, MSW, FAOSW


Amy MacKenzie, MD, FACP



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Members:
Anahat Kaur, MD
Brandon Greene, RN
Brennan Streck, PhD, RN, MPH
Ira Parker
Richard Gelb, SCOREBoard Member
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LINK TO ADVOCACY RESOURCES

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PAST ADVOCACY PROJECTS

  • Identification of efforts for policy change and recognition of issues of geriatric oncology at the local, national, and international level.
  • The Underreporting of Phase III Chemo-therapeutic Clinical Trial Data of Older Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review in Journal of Geriatric Oncology (JGO) in January of 2020.
  • Collaboration with Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) in developing and launching a survey entitled Cancer Care Providers’ Attitude Toward Care for Older Adults with Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Two manuscripts are published in JGO in 2020.

CURRENT PROJECTS (2021)

  • We are working on a third manuscript to identify differences between medical decision makers (MD/APP) and social workers.
  • We are looking to see if there are differences between urban and non-urban settings to support writing a fourth manuscript.

PUBLICATIONS

Kaur A, Streck B, Pergolotti M, Battisti NML, Krok-Schoen JL, Cabrera Chien L, Canin B, Ali I, Malone MV, MacKenzie A, Shahrokni A, Plotkin E, Boehmer LB, BrintzenhofeSzoc K. Cancer care physicians’ attitudes toward do not resuscitate orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Geriatr Oncol. 2024 Feb 10:101717. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2024.101717. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38342736. Link

Viteri Malone MA, Cabrera Chien L, Pergolotti M, Canin B, Battisti NML, Krok-Schoen JL, Kaur A, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Plotkin E, Boehmer LM, Shahrokni A. Evolving oncology care for older adults: Trends in telemedicine use after one year of caring for older adults with cancer during COVID-19. J Geriatr Oncol. 2023 Jul;14(6):101497. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2023.101497. Epub 2023 May 15. PMID: 37328358. Link

Pergolotti M, Pisegna J, Chien LC, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Kaur A, Battisti N, Canin B, Malone MV, Shahrokni A, Plotkin E, Boehmer LM, Ali I, Krok-Schoen JL. Healthcare providers’ experiences of continuing care for older adults with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Cancer Surviv. 2023 Mar 22:1-8. doi: 10.1007/s11764-023-01356-7. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36947288. Link

Kaur A, Pergolotti M, Battisti N, Krok-Schoen JL, Cabrera Chien L, Canin B, Malone MV, MacKenzie A, Ali I, Streck B, Shahrokni A, Plotkin E, Boehmer LB, BrintzenhofeSzoc K. Healthcare providers’ attitudes towards delay in cancer treatment during COVID-19 pandemic. J Geriatr Oncol. 2023 Mar;14(2):101438. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2023.101438. Epub 2023 Jan 17. PMID: 36682216. Link

Pisegna JL, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Shahrokni A, Canin B, Plotkin E, Boehmer LM, Chien L, Malone MV, MacKenzie AR, Krok-Schoen JL. Differences in urban and suburban/rural settings regarding care provision and barriers of cancer care for older adults during COVID-19. Support Care Cancer. 2022 Dec 23;31(1):78. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07544-y. PMID: 36562819. Link

BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Krok-Schoen JI, Pisegna JL, MacKenzie AR, Canin B, Plotkin E, Boehmer LM, Shahrokni A. Survey of cancer care providers’ attitude toward care for older adults with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Geriatr Oncol. 2021 Mar;12(2):196-205. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2020.09.028. Epub 2020 Oct 5. PMID: 33144071. Link

Krok-Schoen JL, Pisegna JL, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, MacKenzie AR, Canin B, Plotkin E, Boehmer LM, Shahrokni A. Experiences of healthcare providers of older adults with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Geriatr Oncol. 2021 Mar;12(2):190-195. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2020.09.021. Epub 2020 Sep 18. PMID: 32978104. Link

BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Krok-Schoen JL, Canin B, Parker I, MacKenzie AR, Koll T, Vankina R, Hsu CD, Jang B, Pan K, Lund JL, Starbuck E, Shahrokni A. The underreporting of phase III chemo-therapeutic clinical trial data of older patients with cancer: A systematic review. J Geriatr Oncol. 2020 Apr;11(3):369-379. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2019.12.007. Epub 2020 Jan 10. PMID: 31932259. Link

PRESENTATIONS

Koll T, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Shahrokoni A, Canin B, Parker IR, Krok-Schoen JL, MacKenzie AR, Lund JL, Hsu CD, Pan K, Vankina R. The underreporting of clinical trial data of older patients with cancer: A systematic review. Poster Presentation, November 2018, International Society of Geriatric Oncology, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Shahrokoni A, Canin B, Parker IR, Krok-Schoen JL, MacKenzie AR, Lund JL, Hsu CD, Pan K, Vankina R. A review of oncologic therapeutic phase-3 clinical trial literature: Exploring the reporting of clinical trial data of older patients with cancer. Poster Presentation, September 2018, American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium, Phoenix, Arizona.

BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Shahrokoni A, Canin B, Parker IR, Krok-Schoen JL, MacKenzie AR, Lund JL, Hsu CD, Pan K, Vankina R. Underreporting of clinical trial data for older cancer patients: A systematic review. ePoster Presentation, June 2018, Multinational Association of Symptom Care in Cancer, Vienna, Austria.

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