115 Background: The elderly population is the fastest growing segment of the US population, and it is widely affected by cancer and its related sequelae. At St. Louis University (SLU), a simple Rapid Geriatric Assessment (RGA) was developed based on the SLU Mental Status Exam (SLUMS). The RGA includes screening for frailty, sarcopenia, nutrition, and cognition. In this pilot study, we used RGA to assess geriatric patients with newly diagnosed malignancy prior to cancer therapy and its ability to improve outcomes in oncology patients. Methods: Elderly patients (aged 65 and above) with newly diagnosed malignancy completed the RGA either inpatient or outpatient at SLU. A retrospective chart review was done to collect patient's demographics, type of malignancy, number of hospitalizations since diagnosis and referral to palliative care over a 6 month period. Relationship between tolerability and RGA subscores were assessed using general linear models, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Chi-square testing. Results: Twenty six patients (mean age 76 [65-90]) were included from December 2015 to 2016 of which 9 were male (n = 35) and 17 female (n = 65). 19 patients (73%) were inpatient, 7 (27%) were outpatient and 13 patients (50%) received chemotherapy. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, no significant difference was seen between RGA subscores (FRAIL p = 1; SNAQ p = 0.69; SARC-F p = 0.71; RCS p = 1) in patients receiving versus not receiving chemotherapy. There was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) over a 20 month period based on chemotherapy status (p = 0.39). In our study, 62% of patients (n = 16) were referred to palliative care and noted to have a significant better OS (p = 0.04). Conclusions: The RGA is a self-explanatory tool that can be used in geriatric oncology patients and it can bedone in 10 minutes. In this pilot study, we used this tool in a small number of patients. We plan to perform a prospective study to evaluate the RGA comparing to ECOG-performance status in geriatric patients prior to standard cancer therapies. Improvement of overall survival with incorporation of palliative care in oncology patients is reaffirmed in our study.