Introduction

The prevalence of frailty is expected to increase due to the worldwide ageing. However, little is known about the prevalence of frailty in urological cancer patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the useful frailty assessment tools for urological cancer patients in comparison with community-dwelling population.

Methods

From August 2013 to March 2016, we evaluated 486 consecutive urological cancer patients in our hospital. Urological cancers included prostate cancer (PC, n=226), bladder cancer (BC, n=132), upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC, n=42), and renal cell carcinoma (RCC, n=86). We retrospectively compared age and sex adjusted urological cancer patients and 2766 community-dwelling subjects who underwent frailty assessment including physical status (handgrip strength and gait speed), serum test (serum albumin and renal function), and mental status (exhaustion and depression). Gait speed was evaluated by timed get up and go test (TGUG). Independent factors that were significantly associated with tumor-bearing status were evaluated by multivariate regression analysis.

Results

The number of pair-matched patients in PC, BC, UTUC, and RCC were 212, 130, 41, and 84. TGUG, handgrip strength, and serum albumin were significantly worse in all types of cancers than controls. Renal function was significantly better in PC, whereas it was worse in BC, UTUC, and RCC than controls. The number of patients with exhaustion or depression were significantly higher in PC. Multivariate regression analysis showed TGUG and serum albumin were significantly associated with tumor-bearing status.

Conclusions

Urological cancer patients were significantly frail compared with community-dwelling older adults. Our results provide a picture of the prevalence of frailty in urological patients. TGUG and serum albumin may be simple and useful tools for frailty assessment in urological cancer patients.

Funding

none