Tolerance Of Anti-cancer Systemic Therapy In the Elderly (TOASTIE)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tolerance Of Anti-cancer Systemic Therapy In the Elderly (TOASTIE)
IRAS ID
281443
Contact name
Helen Dearden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - R & D Department
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This is a multicentre observational study evaluating frailty and tolerance of chemotherapy in the elderly.
The number of people with cancer over the age of 65 years is increasing and more older patients are being treated with chemotherapy. Previous research has shown that patients living with frailty are more likely to experience significant toxicity from chemotherapy. A scoring system exists (the CARG score) which predicts the likelihood of toxicity in this population. This scoring system was developed and validated in the USA. It was not however found to be predictive of toxicity in Australia. To date it has not been evaluated, nor is used in routine practice in oncology in the UK.
This study is looking at markers of frailty in patients >65years. We seek to predict those who are at a higher risk of side effects from chemotherapy. We are looking to validate the CARG score in a UK NHS population and show feasibility of using this in routine practice. We are also evaluating if other scoring systems which are routinely used to assess frailty (but have never been assessed for predicting toxicity) are useful in predicting toxicity.
The study will identify patients aged 65years and older who are about to start chemotherapy and ask additional health questions (both during the routine clinic visit and as a paper questionnaire). This information will enable us to calculate frailty scores including CARG. We will then prospectively observe these patients using their care notes to see if they develop any toxicity from chemotherapy, enabling us to evaluate these frailty scoring systems to see if they are predictive of toxicity in this population.
Secondary ojectives include describing frailty in this population, exploring patients' perceptions of risk associated with chemotherapy and demonstrating the added value of risk prediction tools compared to clinicians estimates of toxicity risk.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
20/ES/0114
Date of REC Opinion
26 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion