Association between frailty syndrome and survival in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a syndrome characterized by weakness, slow gait, weight loss, exhaustion, and low activity. We sought to determine whether frailty was associated with age or stage in newly diagnosed patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and determine its association with survival. METHODS: Consecutive patients with newly diagnosed PDAC of all stages underwent baseline assessment. Frailty (per Fried criteria) was defined as having three or more abnormalities in: grip strength, gait speed, weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, or self-reported physical activity. Baseline clinicodemographic characteristics, anatomic stage, performance status, and laboratory markers of prognosis were included. The association between baseline characteristics, frailty, and survival was determined. The associations of individual frailty measures with age, stage, comorbidities, and performance status were examined. Body composition was measured from computed tomographic images using SliceOMatic software. RESULTS: Of 150 patients enrolled, 8 were excluded because they did not have PDAC on final diagnosis. The median age was 65 years (range, 32-89). Seventy-nine patients (55.6%) were sarcopenic, and 36 (25.4%) were frail. Frailty was associated with increasing comorbidities (P = 0.03) and worse performance status (P < 0.01). During follow-up, 79 patients (56%) died. Frailty was significantly associated with death during the follow-up period (P < 0.001) for the entire cohort, including patients with curative (P = 0.038) and palliative (P = 0.003) treatment plans. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was seen frequently in patients with newly diagnosed PDAC and was not associated with increasing age or more advanced stage. Frailty was a predictor of survival, including patients treated with curative intent.