Getting the right measure: Gait speed assessment and outcomes in older patients with cancer

Key Points

• This research aims to determine the relationship between gait speed and mortality in patients with head and neck cancer.
• Analyzed gait speed measurements in older patients
• Classified patients based on usual and fast gait speeds
• Calculated one-year mortality rates based on gait speed categories
• Patients with usual and fast gait speeds <1 m/s have a twofold higher mortality risk
• Lower gait speeds correlate with increased mortality within one year