Key result
Preoperative frailty screening using geriatric assessments is appropriate for elderly patients with NSCLC, though current methods fail to fully capture surgical frailty.
Why the study?
Elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer can benefit from surgery if risks are properly assessed, but the importance of frailty as a preoperative marker is not well defined.
Does preoperative frailty screening improve surgical outcomes in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer?
Systematic Review
Does preoperative frailty screening improve surgical outcomes in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer?
Preoperative frailty screening using geriatric assessments is important for elderly NSCLC patients, but specific tools to capture surgical frailty need to be developed.
Preoperative frailty screening may flag higher-risk elderly NSCLC surgical candidates; leaves open need for validated surgical-specific tools.
INTRODUCTION: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a disease commonly diagnosed in the elderly, often in advanced stages. However, elderly patients with lung cancer can benefit from surgery, provided that postoperative risks are assessed appropriately before surgery. Frailty is a measure of age-related impaired functional status and a predictor of mortality and morbidity. However, its importance as a preoperative marker is not well defined. AREAS COVERED: This systematic review discusses the importance of preoperative frailty screening in elderly patients with NSCLC. A literature search was performed on the MEDLINE database in June 2023, and relevant studies on frailty or preoperative assessment of NSCLC which were published between 2000 and 2023 were retained and discussed in this review. EXPERT OPINION: Among the types of existing methods used to assess frailty those on the geriatric assessment seem to be the most appropriate; however, they are unable to fully capture the 'surgical' frailty; thus, other instruments should be developed and validated in NSCLC.
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Iacobescu et al. (2024) conducted a systematic review in Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Preoperative frailty screening was evaluated. Preoperative frailty screening using geriatric assessments is appropriate for elderly patients with NSCLC, though current methods fail to fully capture surgical frailty.
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