The influence of sex on the impact of age and frailty on acute care use among older adults receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment: A population-based study.

Authors

null

Elizabeth Faour

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

Elizabeth Faour , Rinku Sutradhar , Yosuf Kaliwal , Yue Niu , Ning Liu , Melanie Lynn Powis , Geoffrey Liu , Jeffrey M. Peppercorn , Monika K. Krzyzanowska , Shabbir M.H. Alibhai , Lawson Eng

Organizations

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada, ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), Toronto, ON, Canada, Princess Margaret - University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada, Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Research Funding

Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

Background: ICIs are commonly used across solid tumors and although better tolerated than chemotherapy, patients may develop immune related adverse events (irAEs) requiring hospitalization. Older adults were poorly represented in trials evaluating ICIs. We previously demonstrated that among older adults receiving ICIs, increasing age was associated with reduced risk of irAE hospitalizations, while frailty was associated with increased acute care use (ASCO 2022). However, sex may impact irAE rates. Here, we evaluated sex-specific differences based on age and frailty, on acute care use and irAEs among older adults receiving ICIs. Methods: We performed a retrospective, population-based study of a cohort of patients with cancer, age ≥ 65, receiving ICIs between June 2012 and October 2018 in Ontario, Canada using administrative data. Databases were deterministically linked to obtain socio-demographic and clinical covariates, and acute care outcomes. Acute care use was defined as emergency department visits or hospitalizations from the start of ICIs to 120 days following last dose; irAE specific hospitalizations were identified using ICD-10 codes. Frailty was assessed using the McIsaac Frailty Index. Using death as the competing risk, multivariable competing risk analyses with Fine Gray sub-distribution hazards evaluated the effect of age and frailty on both acute care use and irAE hospitalizations, adjusted for body mass index (BMI), history of autoimmune condition, comorbidity score, rurality, and hospitalization within 60 days prior to starting ICI, stratified by sex. Results: 2737 patients were identified; 60% male. Median age 73 (IQR 69-78); 43% received Nivolumab, 41% Pembrolizumab and 13% Ipilimumab; 53% had lung cancer, 34% melanoma. 70% were robust (R), 26% pre-frail (PF) and 4% frail (F). 72% of patients had an acute care episode and 8% had an irAE hospitalization, which did not differ by sex (72%/8% male; 71%/8% female). Increasing frailty was associated with greater acute care use in males (PF vs R aHR 1.20 [95% CI 1.02-1.40] p = 0.03, F vs R aHR 1.42 [1.05-1.91] p = 0.02) and females (PF vs R aHR 1.24 [1.03-1.49] p = 0.02, F vs R aHR 1.55 [0.99-2.40] p = 0.05) but was not associated with irAE hospitalization in either sex. Using age as a continuous variable, increasing age was associated with reduced irAE hospitalizations in males (aHR 0.97 per year [0.94-0.99] p = 0.04), but not in females (p = 0.18); no significant associations were identified modelling age as a categorical variable. Conclusions: Among older adults receiving ICIs, increasing age was associated with reduced rates of irAE related hospitalization in males but not in females, while increasing frailty was associated with increased acute care use among both sexes. Sex should be taken into consideration when evaluating potential toxicity among older adults receiving ICIs.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Symptoms and Survivorship

Track

Symptom Science and Palliative Care

Sub Track

Geriatric Models of Care

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr 12053)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.12053

Abstract #

12053

Poster Bd #

421

Abstract Disclosures

Funded by Conquer Cancer