Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36961839›Full record

Observational studyPloS one2023

Edmonton Frail Scale predicts mortality in older patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy-A prospective observational study.

Inga Marie Røyset, Guro Falk Eriksen, Jūratė Šaltytė Benth, Ingvild Saltvedt, Bjørn Henning Grønberg, Siri Rostoft, Øyvind Kirkevold, Darryl Rolfson, Marit Slaaen

Full text readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Tumor burden and frailty: No association in liver transplantation candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma.Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society · 2026
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  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Inga Marie RøysetDepartment of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-9897-5513
Guro Falk EriksenThe Research Centre for Age-Related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-4726-2492
Jūratė Šaltytė BenthThe Research Centre for Age-Related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.
Ingvild SaltvedtDepartment of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Bjørn Henning GrønbergDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-5744-1534
Siri RostoftInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Øyvind KirkevoldThe Research Centre for Age-Related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.
Darryl RolfsonDivision of Geriatric Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Marit SlaaenThe Research Centre for Age-Related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-1038-8032

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeveral screening tools are developed to identify frailty in the increasing number of older patients with cancer. Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) performs well in geriatric settings but is less studied in oncology. We aimed to investigate if EFS score (continuous and categorical) predicts survival in patients referred for radiotherapy, and to assess the concurrent validity of EFS compared with a modified geriatric assessment (mGA).

methodsProspective observational, single-center study including patients ≥65 years, referred for curative or palliative radiotherapy for confirmed cancer. Patients underwent mGA (assessment of cognition, mobility, falls, comorbidity, polypharmacy, depression, nutrition, and activities of daily living) and screening with EFS prior to radiotherapy. The predictive value of EFS score of two-year overall survival (OS) was assessed by Kaplan-Meier plots and compared by log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression model was estimated to adjust the associations for major cancer-related factors. Concurrent validity of EFS in relation to mGA was estimated by Spearman`s correlation coefficient and ordinal regression. Sensitivity and specificity for different cut-offs was assessed.

resultsPatients' (n = 301) mean age was 73.6 (SD 6.3) years, 159 (52.8%) were men, 54% received curative-intent treatment, breast cancer (32%) was the most prevalent diagnosis. According to EFS≥6, 101 (33.7%) were classified as frail. EFS score was predictive of OS [hazard ratio (HR) 1.20 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-1.30)], as was increasing severity assessed by categorical EFS (p<0.001). There was a strong correlation between EFS score and number of geriatric impairments (Spearman`s correlation coefficient 0.77). EFS cut-off ≥6 had a sensitivity of 0.97 and specificity of 0.57 for identifying patients with minimum two geriatric impairments.

conclusionEFS predicts mortality in older patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, and it is a quick (<5 minutes) and sensitive screening tool to identify patients who may benefit from a geriatric assessment.

Indexed as

FrailtyNeoplasmsActivities of Daily LivingAgedFemaleFrail ElderlyGeriatric AssessmentHumansMaleProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID36961839
PMCPMC10038266

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read52
identifiers read9
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.