The First Report on the Current Status of Geriatric Oncology in the Gulf Cooperation Council and a Pragmatic Roadmap for Implementation

Abstract

Background: The Gulf Cooperation Council countries face converging demographic ageing and a rising cancer burden. By 2040, new cancer cases are projected to increase by approximately 143%, and deaths by 188%; among adults aged ≥70 years, projected increases reach 540% in men and 357% in women relative to 2018. Despite advanced oncology infrastructure, routine comprehensive geriatric assessment and dedicated geriatric oncology services remain absent as a system-level standard, limiting toxicity-minimizing care for vulnerable older patients. Objectives: To map the current status of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and geriatric oncology (GO) services across the six GCC countries, synthesize demographic and cancer-burden projections, identify implementation gaps, and propose a pragmatic, culturally adapted, stepwise roadmap with measurable performance targets for integrating CGA into routine oncology care. Methods: This narrative review followed the SANRA framework. A structured search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Google Scholar (inception to June 2026) used predefined terms covering geriatric oncology, CGA, GCC countries, cancer burden, and implementation science. Sources were supplemented with GLOBOCAN 2022, UN World Population Prospects 2022, national registry reports (UAE-NCR 2021–2023; QNCR 2020), and international guidelines, including the 2025 ASCO Global Guideline and 2014 SIOG consensus. Results: In 2020, the GCC reported 42,475 new cancer cases and 19,895 deaths; breast, colorectal, and thyroid cancers comprised approximately 40% of incidence. Routine G8 screening, dedicated GO clinics, geriatric domain registry capture, and actionable CGA-guided interventions were absent across all six countries. Pilot programs at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Tawam Hospital lack EHR integration, standardized follow-up, and performance monitoring. Indian nurse-led G8 models demonstrated feasible reductions in grade 3–5 chemotherapy toxicity (15%), offering a scalable benchmark. Conclusions: The integration of CGA into GCC oncology is strongly supported by demographic, epidemiological, and clinical evidence. This first GCC-wide synthesis proposes a pragmatic, stepwise roadmap with ten domain-specific performance targets adapted from Western and Indian models. These targets were extrapolated from non-GCC evidence, and prospective GCC pilot studies are needed for validation.