Incorporation of functional status, frailty, comorbidities, and co-medication in colorectal cancer survival prediction models

Limitations in functional status, frailty, multiple comorbidities, and co-medications are common among older colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Analysis of 3,410 colorectal cancer patients participating in the German DACHS study evaluated addition of these factors to a reference prediction model (containing age, sex, tumor stage and location) of five-year survival outcomes (OS, DFS, DSS, RFS, and nDSS). The analysis found that the less CRC-specific the survival outcome and the older the patient, the more relevant was the inclusion of functional status, comorbidity, and frailty in CRC prognostic scores.