Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo, Turin, Italy.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Portsmouth, UK.
Oncologist. 2022 Oct 1;27(10):e796-e803. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyac133.
Frailty negatively affects the outcomes of patients with cancer, and its assessment might vary widely in the real world. The objective of this study was to explore awareness and use of frailty screening tools among the ONCOassist healthcare professionals (HCPs) users.
We sent 2 emails with a cross-sectional 15-item survey in a 3-week interval between April and May 2021. Differences in the awareness and use of tools according to respondents' continents, country income, and job types were investigated.
Seven hundred thirty-seven HCPs from 91 countries (81% physicians, 13% nurses, and 5% other HCPs) completed the survey. Three hundred and eighty-five (52%) reported assessing all or the majority of their patients; 518 (70%) at baseline and before starting a new treatment. Three hundred and four (43%) HCPs were aware of performance status (PS) scores only, 309 (42%) age/frailty/comorbidity (AFC) screening, and 102 (14%) chemotoxicity predictive tools. Five hundred and thirty-seven (73%) reported using tools; 423 (57%) just PS, 237 (32%) AFC, and 60 (8%) chemotoxicity ones. Reasons for tools non-use (485 responders) were awareness (70%), time constraints (28%), and uselessness (2%). There were significant differences in awareness and use of screening tools among different continents, country income, job types, and medical specialties (P < .001 for all comparisons).
Among selected oncology HCPs, there is still a worldwide lack of knowledge and usage of frailty screening tools, which may differ according to their geography, country income, and education. Targeted initiatives to raise awareness and education are needed to implement frailty assessment in managing patients with cancer.
衰弱对癌症患者的结局有负面影响，其评估在现实世界中可能存在很大差异。本研究的目的是探讨 ONCOassist 医疗保健专业人员（HCP）使用者对衰弱筛查工具的认知和使用情况。
我们在 2021 年 4 月至 5 月期间以 3 周为间隔发送了 2 封带有横断面 15 项调查的电子邮件。根据调查对象的所在洲、国家收入和工作类型，调查了对工具的认知和使用的差异。
来自 91 个国家的 737 名 HCP 完成了调查（81%为医生，13%为护士，5%为其他 HCP）。385 名（52%）报告评估了所有或大部分患者；518 名（70%）在基线时和开始新治疗前评估。304 名（42%）HCP 仅知道绩效状态（PS）评分，309 名（42%）知道年龄/衰弱/合并症（AFC）筛查，102 名（14%）知道化疗毒性预测工具。537 名（73%）报告使用了工具；423 名（57%）仅使用 PS，237 名（32%）使用 AFC，60 名（8%）使用化疗毒性工具。不使用工具的原因（485 名应答者）为知晓度（70%）、时间限制（28%）和无用性（2%）。不同洲、国家收入、工作类型和医学专业之间在对筛查工具的认知和使用方面存在显著差异（所有比较 P <.001）。
在选定的肿瘤学 HCP 中，对衰弱筛查工具的认知和使用仍然存在全球范围内的不足，这可能因他们的地理位置、国家收入和教育水平而异。需要采取有针对性的举措来提高认识和教育水平，以便在管理癌症患者时实施衰弱评估。
