Impact of Chart-Derived Frailty Index on 1-Year Mortality After Radical Cystectomy in 1004 Patients with Bladder Cancer

Abstract

Background: Radical cystectomy is a major urological procedure with high morbidity and mortality. The chart-derived frailty index (CFI), a measure of preoperative frailty, can be calculated by using demographic and routine laboratory variables. We assessed the impact of CFI on 1-year mortality after radical cystectomy.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy between 2007 and 2021. The CFI was calculated as the sum of the presence of the following parameters: age > 70 years, body mass index < 18.5 kg/m2, hematocrit < 35%, albumin < 3.4 g/dL, and creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL. Patients were divided into those with low (0-2) and high (3-5) CFI. The 1-year, all-cause and cancer-specific mortalities after radical cystectomy were evaluated.

Results: Of the 1004 patients, 914 (91.0%) had a low CFI and 90 (9.0%) had a high CFI. The 1-year, all-cause mortality in the low and high CFI groups was 12.0% and 27.8%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that high CFI (P < 0.001), tumor stage (P = 0.003), and red blood cell transfusion amount (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with 1-year, all-cause mortality after radical cystectomy. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated significantly different 1-year, all-cause and cancer-specific mortalities after radical cystectomy between patients with a high CFI and those with a low CFI (log-rank test, both P < 0.001).

Conclusions: High CFI is associated with higher 1-year mortality after radical cystectomy, suggesting that the CFI can effectively predict mortality after radical cystectomy.