The preoperative G8 geriatric screening tool independently predicts survival in older patients with endometrial cancer: results of a retrospective single-institution cohort study

PURPOSE: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of global health status assessment tools in elderly patients with endometrial cancer (EC) on survival. METHODS: Preoperative frailty status was assessed by the G8 geriatric screening tool (G8 Score), Lee Schonberg prognostic index, Charlson Comorbidity index and American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status System in women older than 60 years with EC. Univariable and multivariable Cox-regression analyses, as well as Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were performed to determine the prognostic impact. Statistical analyses were adjusted for cancer entity-specific risk factors such as conventional histopathological tumor characteristics and relevant anamnestic life style parameters. RESULTS: 153 patients with all stages of EC who were operated at the University Medical Center Mainz between 2008 and 2019 were included. In multivariable analyses, only the G8 Score retained independent significance as a prognostic factor for disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR:4.58; 95% CI [1.35–15.51]) and overall survival (OS) (HR:2.89; 95% CI [1.31–6.39]. 92 patients (61.3%) were classified as G8-non-frail with a significantly increased DSS and OS rate compared to the 58 G8-frail patients (DSS:93.8% vs. 60.8%; p < 0.001 and OS:88.2% vs. 49.7%; p < 0.001; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study demonstrates the substantial clinical and prognostic impact of the G8 Score on survival in elderly women with EC. Assessing the frailty status to estimate the individual vulnerability of elderly cancer patients could be useful in preoperative decision-making to individualize treatment plans such as the surgical radicality and to improve pre- and postoperative morbidity. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-022-03934-1.