151751-Najiba-Chargi

402 CHAPTER 20 ABSTRACT Background Treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) carries a high risk of adverse outcomes in patients, especially in frail elderly. Therefore, it is important to identify patients in which treatment benefits outweighs the risk of any adverse outcome. Although the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) identifies frailty, it is a time-consuming tool. Instead, measurement of skel - etal muscle mass and strength (sarcopenia) may be a promising and time-efficient biomarker for frailty. The aimof this study was to examine the association between sarcopenia and frailty assessment tools such as the CGA, Fried criteria and the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI). Material and methods A retrospective study was performed in elderly patients (≥70-years) with HNC. Sarcopenia was defined as the combination of reduced handgrip strength (HGS) and low skeletal muscle mass (SMM), according to the EWGSOP-criteria. SMM was measured on routinely available diagnostic imaging and corrected height: skeletal muscle index (SMI). A CGA was performed by a geriatrician. Frailty screening was performed using the GFI and the Fried criteria. Results In total, 73 patients were included of which 33 were men (45.2%) and 40 women (54.8%). Frail patients diagnosed by CGA were more likely to have low SMI, sarcopenia, more comorbidities and were at high risk for malnutrition (all p<0.05). In multivariate regression analysis, the only significant predictor for frailty diagnosed by CGA was SMI (OR 0.9, p<0.01) independent of comorbidity and muscle strength. Conclusion Low SMI and sarcopenia is associated with frailty in elderly HNC patients. Low SMI predicts frailty and is a promising time-efficient and routinely available tool for clinical practice.