Background/Aims@#Despite the increasing need for
geriatric assessment prior to
chemotherapy, the
method for this assessment remains inadequate for older
cancer patients. We aimed to propose a simple assessment
method to predict the performance of
adjuvant chemotherapy in older
patients after
colon cancer surgery. @*
Methods@#This
prospective study included
patients over 65 years of age
who were scheduled for
adjuvant chemotherapy after
colon cancer surgery. Before initiating
chemotherapy, their
functional status was assessed on the basis of
activities of daily living (
ADL)/instrumental
activities of daily living (IADL). These
parameters were analyzed with clinical characteristics and the patterns of
adjuvant chemotherapy. The focus was on the completion rate of
adjuvant chemotherapy. @*Results@#A total of 89
patients with a median age of 72 years were analyzed. Among them, 54 (61%) were non-impaired and 35 (39%) were impaired regarding their
ADL/IADL
classification. Low
body mass index and impairment of
ADL/IADLs were significantly associated with
chemotherapy interruption. Among toxicities,
fatigue and
hand-foot syndrome were independent
prognostic factors for
chemotherapy interruption. Impairments of
ADL/IADL were significantly associated with
fatigue regardless of age. Based on age and
ADL/IADL stratification, younger
patients (≤ 72 years) and/or those
who were
ADL/IADL non-impaired were significantly more likely to complete
adjuvant chemotherapy than older
patients (> 72 years) and
ADL/IADL impaired
patients (p = 0.038). This was regardless of the
chemotherapy regimen. @*Conclusions@#Functional assessment using
ADL/IADL is a convenient
method to predict
chemotherapy toxicity and performance. These results suggested that routine
screening for
ADL/IADLs could guide appropriate
patient selection for the completion of
adjuvant chemotherapy and predict expected outcomes.