Systemic treatment among frail older patients with cancer: An observational cohort.

Introduction: In the past, certain oncological therapies were not offered to frail older patients. However, the advancement of geriatric oncology, tailored chemotherapy regimens, the introduction of new treatments, and the optimization of supportive care have contributed to enhancing the therapeutic margin. We aimed to evaluate the benefit of systemic treatment among older adults by assessing the three-month survival of older frail patients with metastatic cancer.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients aged 70 and over with metastatic cancer who underwent pre-therapeutic geriatric assessment at Gustave Roussy Hospital between May 2020 and May 2022 and were categorized as "frail" according to the SIOG-1 classification, whether they received systemic treatment (ST group) or exclusive supportive care (SC group).
Results: The ST group included 77 patients, and the SC group included 44 patients. Patients in the ST group had a median age of 80.6 years (82.7 years in SC group). The three-month overall survival rate was 81.8 % [95 % Confidence Interval (CI) 71.8; 88.9] in the ST group. The median survival rate was 10.6 months [95 % CI 6.3; 12.6] in the ST group. In multivariate analysis within the ST group, loss of autonomy assessed by activity of daily living (ADL) (HR 2.16 [1.09; 4.28]) and more frailty factors (HR 1.40 [1.01; 1.95]) were associated with lower three-month survival.
Discussion: Older frail patients with metastatic cancer may benefit from systemic oncologic treatment. The introduction of such treatment for patients with loss of autonomy in ADL or cumulative frailty factors should be considered only with caution.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Marine Valery reports receiving a fee from Merck for participation on its Advisory Board. Capucine Baldini is principal/sub-Investigator of Clinical Trials for Abbvie, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Argen-X Bvba, Arno Therapeutics, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Astra Zeneca, Aveo, Bayer Healthcare Ag, Bbb Technologies Bv, Blueprint Medicines, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Clovis Oncology, Daiichi Sankyo, Debiopharm S.A., Eisai, Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Forma, Gamamabs, Genentech, Inc., Glaxosmithkline, H3 Biomedicine, Inc., Hoffmann La Roche Ag, Innate Pharma, Iris Servier, Janssen Cilag, Kyowa Kirin Pharm. Dev., Inc., Loxo Oncology, Lytix Biopharma As, Medimmune, Menarini Ricerche, Merck Sharp & Dohme Chibret, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Merus, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Nanobiotix, Nektar Therapeutics, Novartis Pharma, Octimet Oncology Nv, Oncoethix, Onyx Therapeutics, Orion Pharma, Oryzon Genomics, Pfizer, Pharma Mar, Pierre Fabre, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, Taiho Pharma, Tesaro, Inc., Xencor; benefits from research grants from BMS; reports non-financial support (drug supplied) from Astrazeneca, Bayer, BMS, Boringher Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Medimmune, Merck, NH TherAGuiX, Pfizer, Roche; reports consulting from Bicycle therapeutics, Rising Tide Foundation, ITEOS, Boxer Capital, JM; reports honoraria from GSK, BMS, AZ, Amgen, Sanofi, MSD Janssen for travel accommodation; reports funding from BMS Foundation. Maxime Frélaut reports receiving a fee from Sandoz for participation on its Advisory Board, a fee as an invited speaker from MSD, and an institutional research grant from IPSEN. The other authors indicated they did not have any financial relationships.
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