Prediction of Chemotherapy Toxicity and Survival in Elderly Cancer Patients by CARG Score

July 18, 2022 updated by: Donia Hussein Abd Elhamed, Assiut University

Prediction of Chemotherapy Toxicity and Survival in Elderly Cancer Patients by Using CARG Score (Cancer and Aging Research Group Score)

Prediction of chemotherapy toxicity and survival in elderly (aged ≥65 years old) patients with advanced solid tumors receiving systemic chemotherapy by using CARG risk score.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Elderly patients (age ≥65 years) with cancer represent a growing proportion of patients in oncology clinical practice, primarily due to increasing life-spans as well as medical progress contributing to decreased morbidity and mortality from other causes.

Treatment decision-making for elderly patients with advanced cancer is often more complex than decision-making in younger cancer patients. The elderly population is heterogeneous in terms of their overall health status beyond their cancer diagnosis.

The risk of severe chemotherapy toxicity is one of the most important factors oncologists consider when recommending a treatment plan, and in elderly patients with advanced cancers, 25% to 60% of patients are treated with a planned dose reduction for their first chemotherapy cycle. These dose reductions are usually made on the basis of chronologic age and ECOG performance status, variables well known to be poor predictors of chemotherapy toxicity risk and tolerability of treatment.

Clinical prediction tools provide physicians with more accurate means for identifying patients who are at low or high risk of adverse outcomes.

The cancer Aging Research Group (CARG) risk score, developed by Hurria and colleagues, is a validated geriatric assessment tool that predicts for significant chemotherapy-related toxicities (grades 3-5) in older North American adults aged ≥65 years starting on chemotherapy.

The CARG score uses 5 key geriatric assessment (GA) domains, selected laboratory test values, age, tumor type, and treatment intensity to categorize patients into 3 risk groups for severe chemotherapy toxicity (grade 3-5): low risk (score 0-5; 30% grade 3-5 toxicity), medium risk (score 6-9; 52%), or high risk (score ≥10; 83%).

The CARG risk score has been validated in other countries and in specific tumour sites to varying degrees. It is included in ASCO Guideline and NCCN guidelines for Geriatric Oncology to predict severe chemotherapy-related toxicity. However its applicability in Egyptian patients is unknown as geriatric assessment is not routinely used for elderly patients.

The investigators may provide an evidence for validating the CARG risk score in Elderly patients with advanced solid tumors receiving systemic chemotherapy.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

63

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Elderly patients (aged ≥65 year's old) planned to receive first-line chemotherapy for advanced solid tumor malignancies, presenting to the clinical oncology department, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut, Egypt, from june 2022 to june 2023.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: ≥65 years.
  • Sex: male, female.
  • ECOG performance status 0,1,2
  • Type of malignancy: solid tumor malignancies planned for systemic chemotherapy alone.
  • Stage: Advanced stage (metastatic first line, recurrent, unresectable locally advanced).
  • Type of Systemic therapy: chemotherapy alone not combined with immunotherapy or radiotherapy.
  • Able to comprehend and complete questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Receiving concurrent radiotherapy or immunotherapy.
  • ECOG performance status >2.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Elderly patients
Elderly patients (aged ≥65 year's old) planned to receive first-line chemotherapy for advanced solid tumor malignancies, presenting to the clinical oncology department, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut, Egypt.

Before the initiation of chemotherapy, study participants will complete the GA questions included in the CARG toxicity score.

Total risk score will be calculated ranging from 0 (lowest toxicity risk) to 19 (highest toxicity risk), incorporates measures of functional status such as fall history, hearing problems, physical capabilities, performance status as well as objective measures including age, gender, height, weight, cancer type, type and dose of chemotherapy, hemoglobin, and creatinine clearance.

CARG score will be stratified as low (score 0-5), intermediate (score 6-9) and high risk (score 10-19).

Chemotherapy-related toxicities will be assessed and graded as per the NCI-CTCAE, version 5.0.

Hospitalizations due to AEs during first-line chemotherapy will be collected.

Subsequent changes in chemotherapy dosage, treatment delays, and treatment discontinuation due to adverse effects as well as mortality rate after treatment will also be monitored.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Prediction of grade 3-5 chemotherapy toxicity risk in elderly patients (aged ≥65 years old) with advanced solid tumors by measurement of CARG risk score (Cancer and Aging Research Group).
Time Frame: 6 months follow up in first line chemotherapy in the advanced setting
6 months follow up in first line chemotherapy in the advanced setting

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Correlation of the physician measured ECOG PS with grade 3-5 toxicities.
Time Frame: 6 months follow up in first line chemotherapy in the advanced setting
6 months follow up in first line chemotherapy in the advanced setting
Correlation between the CARG score and 2 year PFS (progression free survival).
Time Frame: 2 years
it will be measured from the time from start of first-line chemotherapy to disease progression or, censored at last clinic visit)
2 years
Correlation between the CARG score and 2 year OS (overall survival).
Time Frame: 2 years
it will be measured from the start of chemotherapy to death or censored at the last clinic visit
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Anticipated)

July 20, 2022

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2025

Study Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 21, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

June 27, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 19, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 18, 2022

Last Verified

July 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CARG Score in Elderly Patients

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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