Prevalence of Geriatric Syndromes in Elderly Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

Abstract

The number of elderly patients with cancer is growing. Our study goals were to determine the prevalence of geriatric syndromes in elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and its related factors using a basic geriatric screening tool. A cross-sectional study using the basic geriatric screening tool was conducted to survey geriatric problems in a population of elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. There were 85 participants who were ≥60 years old. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used. The prevalence of having at least one geriatric syndrome was 58.8% (50 out of 85 cases). Depression was the most common component both in male and female patients. Age ≥65 years old was significantly associated with the geriatric syndrome (AOR 4.23, p=0.018), and a factor associated with depression was underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m2) (AOR 13.2, p=0.003). In summary, geriatric syndromes are common in elderly cancer patients. Screening for geriatric syndrome adds substantial data on the assessment of elderly cancer patients, even those with a good performance status.