Pretreatment frailty is an independent prognostic factor among elderly patients with B‐cell lymphoma undergoing immunochemotherapy: A prospective observational cohort study in Taiwan

Abstract Background/purpose Frailty is a common clinical syndrome among the elderly; however, it is frequently neglected in patients with hematological malignancies, especially among the Asian population. This study is aimed to evaluate the prevalence and effect of frailty on survival outcomes in elderly Asian patients with B‐cell lymphoma. Methods We prospectively enrolled 76 consecutive patients with age ≥ 65 years and newly diagnosed B‐cell lymphoma and were receiving immunochemotherapy in a medical center in Taiwan between August 2016 and December 2017. The frailty of all patients was assessed using a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) within 7 days before immunochemotherapy. Results Twenty‐seven patients (36%) were allocated to the frail group based on CGA. With a median follow‐up duration of 26.5 (range, 1.7–39.8) months, the 1‐ and 2‐year survival rates were 68% and 58%, respectively, for all group of patients. In patients in the non‐frail group, the 1‐year and 2‐year survival rates were 81% and 71%, respectively, compared to 44% and 33%, respectively, in the frail group (hazard ratio [HR], 3.57, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74–7.30; p = 0.001). Age ≥ 75years (adjusted HR 2.57, 95% CI 1.02–6.47, p = 0.045), presence of B‐symptoms (adjusted HR 2.43, 95% CI 1.05–5.60, p = 0.038), and frailty (adjusted HR 3.03, 95% CI 1.29–7.11, p = 0.011) were independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion Frailty significantly influenced the survival outcome as an independent prognostic factor in elderly patients with B‐cell lymphoma undergoing immunochemotherapy. Pretreatment frailty assessment is critical to assist clinicians and patients with B‐cell lymphoma with prognosis prediction and counseling on an appropriate treatment goal.