Abstract 1613P
Background
Older patients with cancer are at increased risk of sarcopenia. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP)2 proposed criteria for case-finding, diagnosis and severity assessment of sarcopenia. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of each criteria: an abnormal SARC-F [Strength, Assistance with walking, Rising from a chair, Climbing stairs, and Falls] questionnaire, low handgrip strength (HGS), low arm circumference (AC, substitute for muscle mass), low physical performance (PP; abnormal timed up-and-go test [TUG] or incapable), and their predictive value for 6-month mortality in older cancer patients, overall and by metastatic status.
Methods
We analyzed data from the NutriAgeCancer study, a nationwide survey of French hospitals participating in a national network of geriatric oncology clinics. Patients were aged ≥70 years with cancer and referred for geriatric assessment prior to cancer treatment. Cox proportional-hazards models were built to assess the predictive value of each criteria and two composite variables, adjusted for other known predictive factors.
Results
Among the 781 patients included in this study (mean age: 83.1 ±5.99; females: 53%; poor performance status: 43.1%; main cancer sites: digestive (28%) and breast (17%); metastases: 42%), 35.5% had an abnormal SARC-F, 44.5% had a low HGS, 44.7% had a low AC and 35.2% had a low PP. Sarcopenia was present in 24.5% (low HGS and AC) and severe sarcopenia in 11.7%. For the composite variable, classes of increasing risk showed a graded relationship with 6-month mortality (Table). Similar results were found in patients with metastases, whereas no association with mortality was observed in patients without metastases. Table: 1613P
Multivariate Cox analysis of the association between a composite variable of four criteria to evaluate sarcopenia and 6-month mortality
| Adjusted HR | 95% CI | P | |
| Normal SARC-F and HGS | 1 (ref.) | 0.006 | |
| Abnormal SARC-F or low HGS | 1.67 | 0.99-2.83 | |
| Sarcopenia (low HGS and AC) | 2.45 | 1.39-4.35 | |
| Severe sarcopenia (low HGS, AC and PP) | 2.94 | 1.55-5.58 |
Conclusions
Sarcopenia was highly prevalent in older patients with cancer, with a strong significant association with 6-month mortality in metastatic patients.
Clinical trial identification
NCT03390816.
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Elena Paillaud.
Funding
This study was supported by Société Francophone d’OncoGeriatrie (SoFOG).
Disclosure
M. Bringuier: Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker: Lilly; Financial Interests, Personal, Congress funding: Nutricia, Pfizer, Mundipharma, Lilly, Daichii-Sankyo. C. Baldini: Personal, Consulting: Bicycle Therapeutics, Rising Tide Fundation, ITEOS; Financial Interests, Personal, Honoraria: GSK, BMS, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Sanofi, MSD; Travel Accommodation; Financial Interests, Institutional, Funding: BMS Fundation. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.