Cancer in Nursing Home Residents

Inclusion criteria

All individuals:

• Age ≥ 65 years
• Residents in a nursing home in the Armonea network in Belgium.
• Absence of any psychological, familial, or sociological condition potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol; those conditions should be discussed with the patient/proxy before registration in the study.
• Written informed consent must be given according to ICH/GCP, and national/local regulations.
• The treating general practitioner (GP) is willing to provide medical information required by the study.

Cancer patient cohort:

Patients must have a new cancer event defined as one of:

• A strong clinical suspicion (based on physician's judgement) of a new cancer where a diagnostic or therapeutic decision needs to be taken.
• A strong clinical suspicion (based on physician's judgement) of progression of a previously known cancer where a diagnostic or therapeutic decision needs to be taken.
• Diagnosis of a new cancer where a diagnostic or therapeutic decision needs to be taken.
• Diagnosis of progression of a previously known cancer where a diagnostic or therapeutic decision needs to be taken.

All invasive cancer types and all histologies are eligible. All lines of treatment are eligible. Patients who are diagnosed with cancer during routine medical examinations for some other medical condition

Control cohort:

• Absence of known active invasive cancer, or strong clinical suspicion of cancer (based on physician's judgement) at baseline.

Exclusion criteria

Patients who were not suspected to have cancer (progression) in the nursing home, but are hospitalized for other (medical) reasons, are then diagnosed with cancer during hospitalization.