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Patients with head and neck cancer: Are they frailer than patients with other solid malignancies?
Author(s) -
Bras Linda,
Driessen Daphne A. J. J.,
Vries Julius,
Festen Suzanne,
Laan Bernard F. A. M.,
Leeuwen Barbara L.,
Bock Geertruida H.,
Halmos Gyorgy B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.13170
Subject(s) - medicine , comorbidity , univariate analysis , odds ratio , confidence interval , cohort , multivariate analysis , logistic regression , head and neck cancer , quality of life (healthcare) , prospective cohort study , cancer , cohort study , nursing
Objective We aimed to compare frailty status between patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and other solid malignancies. Methods Data collection was prospective, and the following were compared between cohorts at baseline: patient and tumour characteristics, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental ADLs (IADLs), Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Quality of Life (QoL). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, and odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated. Results In total, 242 patients with HNC and 180 with other oncology diagnoses were enrolled, of whom 32.6% and 21.8% were frail according to the GFI respectively. Comorbidity scores were not significantly different between the cohorts (7.4% vs. 13.1%; OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.28–1.02). In the univariate analysis, the GFI was significantly worse in the HNC cohort (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.11–2.71). However, in the multivariate analysis, the MMSE, TUG and global QoL were significantly worse in the HNC cohort, with ORs of 20.03 (95% CI 2.44–164.31), 11.56 (95% CI 1.86–71.68) and 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–1.00) respectively. Conclusion Patients with HNC appear to be frailer than patients with other solid malignancies despite comparable levels of comorbidity.