This observational study evaluated whether two frailty screening tools, the FRAIL scale and the FiND questionnaire, can predict chemotherapy-related side effects in older adults with gastrointestinal cancers. Patients aged 65 years or older who received standard adjuvant chemotherapy after curative surgery for cancers of the colon, rectum, stomach, pancreas, or esophagus were included. No experimental treatment was given, and all patients received routine chemotherapy determined by their treating oncologists. Frailty was assessed at the beginning of chemotherapy, around the middle of treatment, and at the end of therapy. Side effects were recorded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0. The main goal was to determine whether baseline frailty scores were associated with severe (Grade 3 or higher) chemotherapy toxicity. Additional goals included understanding how nutritional status, performance status, and comorbidities were related to toxicity and treatment completion. The study collected real-world data to help identify older patients at higher risk of toxicity and to support safer, more personalized decision-making in routine oncology practice.
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Association Between Baseline Frailty Scores (FRAIL and FiND) and the Incidence of Grade ≥3 Chemotherapy-Related Toxicity
Timeframe: From baseline (before the first chemotherapy cycle) through every chemotherapy cycle during the adjuvant regimen, with summary toxicity assessments performed at mid-treatment (~3 months) and at treatment completion (~6 months).