Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) of elderly lung cancer patients: A single-center experience

Purpose: This study investigated the association of CGA variables with function and survival in elderly lung cancer patients. Patients and methods: We prospectively included 83 consecutive elderly patients with lung cancer who were seen at the outpatient oncology unit at the Hospital Lluis Alcanyis. The patients completed a geriatric assessment tool to measure functional status, comorbidity, cognitive function, psychological state, social support and nutritional status. The correlations of oncological and geriatric variables with survival were determined. Results: The median patient age was 77 years, and the mean number of comorbidities was 3. The measures of dependency were 48.2% for ADL and 69.9% for IADL. PS (p<0.001), IADL dependency (p<0.001), dementia (p<0.001), depression (p<0.001), weight loss, hypoalbuminemia, delirium and incontinence were independently associated with survival. Frail patients exhibited poorer survival (mean: 18.5 months vs. 9.1 months), but this difference was statistically not significant (p=0.07). Conclusions: Geriatric assessment detects more information than oncological evaluation alone. Factors related to survival may assist in the classification of elderly lung cancer patients. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.