Abstract
Management of cancer in the elderly population is currently perceived as one of the major challenges for clinical research in medical oncology. Multidisciplinary evaluation of the malignant disease and multidimensional assessment of the host represent the key element for correct decision making. Standard methods developed by pioneer geriatric oncologists will be summarized in this review, along with some practical suggestions on when and how they should be employed. Future perspectives concerning some critical issues in multidimensional geriatric assessment will be discussed as well.