Association between Iron Deficiency and Survival in Older Patients with Cancer

Abstract

Background: iron deficiency (ID) is frequent in older patients. Purpose: to evaluate the association between ID and survival in patients ≥ 75 years old with confirmed solid tumors. Methods: a retrospective monocentric study including patients between 2009 and 2018. ID, absolute ID (AID) and functional ID (FID) were defined according to the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) criteria. Severe ID was defined by a ferritin level p = 0.0065 and HR 1.73; p = 0.0007). In non-anemic patients, FID was independently associated with better survival (HR 0.65; p = 0.0495). Conclusion: in our study, ID was significantly associated with survival, and with better survival for patients without anemia. These results suggest that attention should be paid to the iron status in older patients with tumors and raise questions about the prognostic value of iron supplementation for iron-deficient patients without anemia.

Keywords

• geriatric oncology
• iron deficiency
• geriatric medicine
• mortality