Frailty linked to diminished quality of life in cancer and transplant survivors

Aging-USOct 2 2024

A new research paper was published on the in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science), Volume 16, Issue 18 on September 26, 2024, entitled, "Frailty and pre-frailty associated with long-term diminished physical performance and quality of life in breast cancer and hematopoietic cell transplant survivors."

As noted in the abstract, physical frailty is not well characterized in breast cancer (BC) and hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) survivors as a sign of accelerated aging. Its correlation with outcomes and quality of life (QOL) is not defined.

In their paper, researchers Najla El Jurdi, Hok Sreng Te, Qing Cao, Char Napurski, Shuo Wang, Andre Robinson, Mukta Arora, Heba ElHusseini, Fiona He, Laura J. Niedernhofer, Bharat Thyagarajan, Anna Prizment, Shernan Holtan, Anne Hudson Blaes, and Matthew J. Yousefzadeh from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA; and Columbia University Medical Center, in New York, NY conducted a prospective analysis to assess frailty in adult breast cancer and hematopoietic cell transplant survivors. The study aimed to evaluate its impact on QOL and its association with the aging biomarker, p16INK4a.

"…this pilot study demonstrates the alarmingly high prevalence of frailty in two growing cohorts of survivors, those with BC and those undergoing HCT, with detrimental effects of physical functioning, quality of life and overall wellbeing."

Their data demonstrate the association between frailty and the senescence marker p16INK4a, years after the completion of treatment. These findings further support the need for well-designed senolytic trials in cancer survivors.