Ability of the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to Predict Frailty in Older People Diagnosed with Cancer in a General Hospital

Abstract

The field of oncogeriatrics considers the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) as the main tool for distinguishing between patients who are frail and those who are not frail. The aim of our study was to determine the role of the CGA in predicting the risk of frailty in elderly patients. This prospective study was conducted at the Cancer in the Elderly Unit of the Medical Oncology Department at the Virgen de la Luz General Hospital in Cuenca, Spain. Demographic data and information about the CGA were collected. Using a bivariate logistic regression analysis, these factors were analysed and the factors that are associated with the risk of frailty were determined, as measured by the Barber questionnaire (BQ). We included 262 patients in the study with a mean age of 79 years (range 70-93 years). Seventy-four percent of the patients (n=194) had a risk of frailty as measured by the BQ. In the bivariate analysis, only age (odds ratio [OR] As the term 'frailty' is problematic, an operational definition of frailty has been used in this article based on the Barber questionnaire (BQ). This is the most widely used questionnaire for identifying risk to the elderly in the outpatient setting. 10,11 In general, it integrates, in a first-stage screening process, global strategies intended to more fully assess and intervene in selected elderly patients at risk, helping to prevent the occurrence of adverse events (mortality, hospitalisation or institutionalisation) in the short to medium term. 10-12Our study's aim was to determine which components of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), patient demographics and tumours predict which elderly patients diagnosed with cancer have a risk of frailty and which do not. It also seeked to develop a predictive model based on such characteristics and determine its predictive power. Materials and MethodsBetween March The CGA model used was specifically designed by the authors of this article and represents the first model created for the elderly Spanish