Frailty and Malnutrition in Surgical Outcomes of Elderly Breast Cancer Patients

We evaluate the impact of frailty and malnutrition on breast cancer surgery outcomes in older adults using the ACS 5-factor modified frailty index (MFI) and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) definition.

Single institution retrospective review of a prospective database of the older adult (>60 years old) breast cancer surgery patients (2000-2016); cases stratified into groups as per MFI (0-2) and GLIM. Characteristics, 90-day post-op events, and 5-year follow-up data were analyzed to report survival and complication outcomes.

Among 436 patients at diagnosis, 213 (48.9%) were >80 years old. 377 (86.5%) were alive at 5 years. 274 (62.8%) had MFI > 0, and 69 (15.8%) had malnutrition. Patients ≥ 80, MFI > 0, and PR-negative tumors had worse 5-year survival. There was no survival difference in patients >80 with/without malnutrition (HR = 1.01, p = 0.971), and there was no difference in mastectomy or lumpectomy (p = 0.560) between patients ≥ 80 or patients younger than 80; however, 94% of immediate reconstruction were in pts < 80. On multivariate regression, complications were associated with age < 80, readmission, MFI > 0, and history of HTN; serious complications were associated with age < 80, readmission, anticoagulation, and not receiving endocrine therapy.

MFI showed a significant predictive value for 5-year survival for patients ≥ 80 and should be part of the preoperative evaluation.