The Impact of Frailty on Chemotherapy Outcomes in Patients With Digestive System Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: The prevalence of patients with digestive system tumors has been high. In recent years, frailty has been considered to be associated with poor prognosis of digestive system tumors, but there are conflicting research results. A better understanding of the relationship between frailty and outcomes after chemotherapy can help advance the development of oncology care.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of prechemotherapy frailty on chemotherapy toxicity, overall mortality, unplanned hospitalization, and overall survival in patients with digestive system tumors.

Methods: Up to April 2023, observational studies assessing the impact of frailty on chemotherapy outcomes in patients with digestive system tumors were collected through searching 10 online research databases. Two evaluators independently extracted literature based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluated the quality of the studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Results: Eventually, 11 cohort studies encompassing 2380 patients were included. The meta-analysis revealed that the frail group exhibited an increased risk of overall mortality, with poorer overall survival than the nonfrail group.

Conclusion: Frailty increases the risk of chemotherapy-induced toxic effects, unplanned hospitalization, and death in patients. However, because of this study's limited number of participants, large-sample, multicenter studies to verify these findings are required.

Implications for practice: This study provides theoretical support for incorporating frailty assessment into the nursing evaluation of patients with digestive system tumors before chemotherapy. This integration aids in predicting patients at a high risk of chemotherapy toxicity, mortality, and unplanned hospitalization, therefore providing corresponding interventions in advance to reduce adverse outcomes.