Comprehensive geriatric assessment as a useful tool in predicting adverse events in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

We conducted a multicenter prospective study on whether a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) can predict the adverse events (AEs) of chemotherapy in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed DLBCL underwent a pretreatment baseline CGA consisting of six assessment tools: activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADL (IADL), mood, nutritional status, comorbidities, and cognitive function. An attending physician chose each patient’s treatment but was blind to CGA results. Patients were grouped as “dependent” or “independent” according to the CGA. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the association between chemotherapy-induced grade 3–4 toxicity and CGA. Of 86 patients, 78 completed the designated CGA. The median age was 79 years (65–89). Seventy-two patients were treated with a cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP-like) regimen, and six were treated with low-toxicity regimens. Forty-one patients were classified as dependent and 37 as independent. In multivariate analysis, an impairment of IADL was independently associated with grade 3–4 leukopenia (odds ratio [OR] 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43–0.92, p = 0.017) and anemia (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.50–0.90, p = 0.008). The presence of a comorbidity was also associated with grade 3–4 non-hematological toxicity (OR 2.17; 95% CI 1.37–3.43, p = 0.001). The 4-year survival rate tended to be longer in the independent (72.7%) compared to dependent (56.9%) group. Overall, a CGA may be a useful tool for predicting serious AEs associated with chemotherapy in elderly patients with DLBCL.