Integration of a Geriatric Assessment with Intervention in the Care of Older Adults with Hematologic Malignancies

The incidence of hematologic malignancies (HMs) is highest in the seventh decade of life and coincides with increasing occult, age-related vulnerabilities. Identification of frailty is useful in prognostication and treatment decision-making for older adults with HMs. This real-world analysis describes 311 older adults with HMs evaluated in a multidisciplinary oncogeriatric clinic. The accumulation of geriatric conditions [1-unit increase, hazards ratio (HR) = 1.13, 95% CI 1.00–1.27, p = 0.04] and frailty assessed by the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS, mild/moderate/severe frailty vs. very fit/well, HR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.41–4.78, p = 0.002) were predictive of worse overall survival. In multivariate analysis, HM type [acute leukemia, HR = 3.84, 95% CI 1.60–9.22, p = 0.003; myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)/myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN)/bone marrow failure, HR = 2.65, 95% CI 1.10–6.35, p = 0.03], age (per 5-year increase, HR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.21–1.76, p < 0.001), hemoglobin (per 1 g/dl decrease, HR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.05–1.40, p = 0.009), deficit in activities of daily living (HR = 2.20, 95% CI 1.11–4.34, p = 0.02), and Mini Nutrition Assessment score (at-risk of malnutrition vs. normal, HR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.07–3.73, p = 0.03) were independently associated with risk of death. The most commonly prescribed geriatric interventions were in the domains of audiology (56%) and pharmacy (54%). The Rockwood CFS correlated with prescribed interventions in nutrition (p = 0.01) and physical function (p < 0.001) domains. Geriatric assessment with geriatric intervention can be practically integrated into the routine care of older adults with HMs.