Cancer in the elderly represents a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality. Moreover, older people frequently present comorbid chronic conditions with functional limitations and it is not known to what extent the coexistence of other disease interferes with referral, diagnosis, therapeutic choice and prognosis of elderly cancer patients. Two cooperative studies were conducted. The first was aimed to investigate comorbid disease burden and functional limitations in older neoplastic and non neoplastic patients and younger neoplastic patients. The second is ongoing and aims to evaluate the role of the Comprehensive Geriatric Evaluation to optimize the management of elderly cancer patients.