Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in older adults with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer undergoing surgery.

Abstract

e24032 Background: Older adults with GI cancer often experience poor surgical outcomes, yet little is known about their PROs, such as physical function, quality of life (QOL), and physical and psychological symptom burden. Methods: As part of a randomized trial of perioperative geriatric care, we prospectively enrolled older adults with GI cancer planning to undergo surgical resection. We asked patients preoperatively to self-report their physical function (ability to perform activities of daily living [ADLs] and instrumental ADLs [IADLs], higher scores indicate better functioning), QOL (EORTC QLQ-C30, higher scores indicate better QOL), symptom burden (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System [ESAS], higher scores indicate more severe symptoms, scores > 3 considered moderate/severe [mod/sev]), and depression symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS], higher scores indicate more severe symptoms, scores > 4 represent a positive screen for depression). We used regression models to identify patient characteristics associated with these PROs. We also explored relationships among PROs and surgical outcomes (receiving planned surgery, postoperative readmissions, and survival). Results: We enrolled 160 of 221 (72.4%) patients approached. A minority of patients were independent in all ADLs (5.2%) and IADLs (47.7%). Patients reported an average of 2.56 mod/sev ESAS symptoms, and 27.7% screened positive for depression, with 53.1% reporting at least one comorbidity. The number of comorbidities was significantly associated with impaired ADLs (B = -0.63, P < .01) and lower QOL (EORTC: B = -2.74, P = .03). For surgical outcomes, patients with better physical function were more likely to receive their planned surgery (ADLs: OR = 1.21, P = .02; IADLS: OR = 1.30, P = .03). Higher QOL correlated with greater odds of receiving planned surgery (EORTC: OR = 1.03, P = .06), but this did not reach statistical significance. A higher number of mod/sev ESAS symptoms was associated with greater postoperative readmission risk within 90 days of surgery (HR = 1.13, P = .03). Better physical function was associated with better postoperative survival (ADLs: HR = 0.87, P = .02; IADLs: HR = 0.73, P < .01), and higher depression scores correlated with worse survival (GDS: HR = 1.13, P = .02). Conclusions: Older adults with GI cancer often have baseline functional limitations and a high physical and psychological symptom burden, all of which are associated with worse surgical outcomes. Future work should study whether addressing preoperative PROs could improve older patients’ surgical outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT02810652 .