SARC-F and SARC-CalF Scores as Mortality Risk Factors in Older Men with Cancer: A Longitudinal Study from Peru.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the role of SARC-F and SARC-CalF scores as risk factors for mortality in adults over 60 years of age with cancer of the Centro Médico Naval (CEMENA) in Callao, Peru during 2012-2015. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort carried out from September 2012 to February 2013 in the Geriatrics Department of CEMENA. The outcome variable was mortality at two years of follow-up, while the exposure variable was the risk of sarcopenia assessed using the SARC-F and SARC-CalF scales. We carried out Cox proportional-hazards models to assess the role of SARC-F and SARC-CalF scores as risk factors for mortality. We estimated crude (cHR) and adjusted (aHR) hazard ratios (HR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Likewise, we calculated the area under the curve (AUC) of both exposure variables in relation to mortality. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 922 elderly men with cancer; 43.1% (n=397) were between 60 and 70 years old. 21.5% (n=198) and 45.7% (n=421) were at risk of sarcopenia according to SARC-F and SARC-CalF, respectively, while the incidence of mortality was 22.9% (n=211). In the adjusted Cox regression model, we found that the risk of sarcopenia measured by SARC-F (aHR=2.51; 95%CI: 1.40-2.77) and SARC-CalF (aHR=2.04; 95%CI: 1.55-4.02) was associated with a higher risk of death in older men with cancer. In the diagnostic performance analysis, we found that the AUC for mortality prediction was 0.71 (95%CI: 0.68-0.75) for SARC-F and 0.80 (95%CI: 0.78-0.82) for SARC-CalF. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of sarcopenia evaluated by SARC-F and SARC-CalF scores was associated with an increased risk of mortality in older men with cancer. Both scales proved to be useful and accessible instruments for the identification of groups at risk of mortality.

Lack of association between angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype and muscle strength in Peruvian older people.

Aging can be associated with decreasing muscle strength, and related factors are comorbidities, sex, physical activity, and possibly genetic factors. Among genetic factors the renin-angiotensin system is of interest, but data on the Peruvian population is lacking. The objective of our study was to evaluate the association of grip strength and angiotensin convertase enzyme (ACE) polymorphism in Peruvian older people. A cross-sectional study in a convenience sample of 104 participants over 60 years in Lima, Perú, with analysis of the ACE polymorphism, was performed. We studied 104 participants, 46 men (44,2%) and 58 women (55,8%), with a mean age and standard deviation (SD) of 73,7 (7,4) years, range between 60-90 years. The frequency of D/D, I/D and I/I genotypes was 12,7; 43,7 and 43,7% respectively. The genotype distribution of ACE polymorphism agreed with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p=0,746). The mean (SD) of grip strength in the D/D, I/D and I/I polymorphisms were 24,8 (7,2); 22,8 (7,2) and 23,4 (7,6) kg respectively; no significant difference was observed (p=0,41) between genetic groups. In this small convenience sample of older Peruvians, no association was found between grip strength and ACE genotype.

Frailty and Vulnerability as Predictors of Chemotherapy Toxicity in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study in Peru.

BACKGROUND: Multiple markers are used to assess frailty and vulnerability, conditions associated with the development of chemotherapy toxicity (CTT). However, there is still no consensus on which condition has stronger association with this adverse effect of chemotherapy in the elderly. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between frailty and vulnerability with the development of CTT in oncogeriatric patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Through a retrospective cohort, a secondary database of 496 male oncogeriatric military patients treated at the Geriatrics Service of the Naval Medical Centre of Peru during 2013-2015 was analyzed. MEASUREMENTS: With prior informed consent, the presence of frailty, assessed by Fried Phenotype; and vulnerability, assessed by the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13) and G-8, was determined. The follow-up of patients in chemotherapy was performed every 8 weeks, to determine the development of CTT (according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0). In addition, we included sociodemographic characteristics, medical background information and functional assessment variables. The data collected was encoded and imported into STATA v14.0 statistical package for analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed using crude and adjusted Cox regression models. The reported measure was the hazard ratio (HR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: The average age was 79.2 ± 4.3 years. 129 (26.01%) developed CTT during follow-up. Similarly, 129 older adults (26.01%) were positive for frailty according to Fried phenotype; 101 (20.36%) were positive for vulnerability with VES-13, and 112 (22.58%) with G-8. In the adjusted Cox model, by type of cancer and adverse effects, a statistically significant association was found between the 3 scales evaluated and the development of CTT, with the Fried Phenotype as the scale with the strongest association (HR=2.01; 95%CI: 1.04-4.90). CONCLUSIONS: The frailty and vulnerability in the elderly are conditions associated with the development of CTT. The Fried phenotype was the scale with the most significant association with the outcome studied.