Impact of preoperative frailty on the surgical and survival outcomes in older patients with solid cancer after elective abdominal surgery

Background: Frailty is common in older patients with cancer; however, its clinical impact on the survival outcomes has seldom been examined in these patients. This study aimed to investigate the association of frailty with the survival outcomes and surgical complications in older patients with cancer after elective abdominal surgery in Taiwan. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 345 consecutive patients aged ≥65 years with newly diagnosed cancer who underwent elective abdominal surgery between 2016 and 2018. They were allocated into the fit, pre-frail, and frail groups according to comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) findings. Results: The fit, pre-frail, and frail groups comprised 62 (18.0%), 181 (52.5%), and 102 (29.5%) patients, respectively. After a median follow-up of 48 (interquartile range, 40–53) months, the mortality rates were 12.9%, 31.5%, and 43.1%, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio was 1.57 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73–3.39; p = 0.25) and 2.87 (95% CI, 1.10–5.35; p = 0.028) when the pre-frail and frail groups were compared with the fit group, respectively. The frail group had a significantly increased risk for a prolonged hospital stay (adjusted odds ratio, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.05–4.69; p = 0.022) compared with the fit group. Conclusion: Pretreatment frailty was significantly associated with worse survival outcomes and more surgical complications, with prolonged hospital stay, in the older patients with cancer after elective abdominal surgery. Preoperative frailty assessment can assist physicians in identifying patients at a high risk for surgical complications and predicting the survival outcomes of older patients with cancer.