Abstract
Several frailty screening tests in older cancer patients were developed but their
statistical performance is low. We aimed to assess whether measurement of usual gait
speed (GS) alone could be used as a frailty screening test in older cancer patients.
This systematic review was conducted on “pub med” between 1984 and 2014 and included
reviews and original studies. Eligibility criteria were: GS over a short distance,
alone or included in composite walking tests (Timed Get Up and Go test: TGUG, Short
Physical Performance Battery: SPPB) in older people (aged 65 and over) living in a
community setting and predictive value of GS on medical complications associated with
frailty. 46 articles were finally selected. GS alone is consensual and recommended
for screening sarcopenia in elderly. A slow GS is predictive of early death, disability,
falls and hospitalization/institutionalization in older people living in a community
setting. GS alone is comparable to composite walking tests that do not provide additional
information on the medical complications associated with frailty. Despite few studies
in geriatric oncology, GS seems to predict overall survival and disability. We suggest
GS over 4 m (at a threshold of 1 m/s) as a new frailty screening test in older cancer patients (65 and over) to guide
the implementation of a comprehensive geriatric assessment during the initial management
phase or during follow-up. Prospective cohort studies are needed to validate this
algorithm and compare it with other screening tool.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 08, 2015
Accepted:
August 17,
2015
Received in revised form:
July 24,
2015
Received:
March 30,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
