Fitness assessment for older patients in breast clinic

Due to the range in general health amongst older women across the UK, it is important to accurately assess how comorbidity, functional status and cognition differ between patients, as these can affect treatment allocation for breast cancer. Clinical guidelines^1,2 emphasise that treatment decisions should be based on clinical need and fitness rather than age alone. Decisions based solely on a woman’s age can lead to non-standard treatment of breast cancer in the elderly population.

In order to support clinicians in these decision-making processes, the NABCOP developed a ‘Fitness Assessment Form’ as a pragmatic tool to standardise how frailty and cognition are measured in breast clinics. The form was designed after multi-professional discussion including geriatricians, breast surgeons, oncologists, anaesthetists and patients, to be a valuable adjunct at the first diagnostic MDT and help guide the best course of treatment. It was successfully piloted across 11 NHS trusts in December 2018, the results of which are described in the NABCOP 2019 Annual Report³.

The components of the fitness tool are now being routinely collected for patients in England as part of the updated Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset (COSD) Version 9 (implemented from July 2020).

 Contents of the assessment form

The form has three parts that record different aspects of health:

• The Clinical Frailty Scale, a common measure of frailty.
• The Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS). This is a short series of questions to measure cognitive ability.
• Three questions about whether a patient has any major diseases e.g. cardio-respiratory disease.

The form will typically take less than 5 minutes to complete. We consider the assessment findings will be helpful at the diagnostic MDT and are readily available within the patient’s medical records. Users may augment the form as required to reflect your local population’s health care needs. Click the link below to download and print a copy of the form.

Download the assessment form

The fitness assessment form is also available in an electronic PDF format. This can be downloaded and saved directly on your computer.

Download the electronic assessment form

Patient eligibility

Patients who fulfil the following criteria are eligible to complete the fitness assessment form:

• aged 70 and over,
• attending breast clinic for the first time for suspicion of breast cancer.

When should the fitness assessment be used?

Any patient who fulfils the eligibility criteria who is attending breast clinic in an NHS hospital for the first time for suspicion of breast cancer (e.g. prior to any breast cancer diagnosis). We suggest the results should be available for the initial multi-disciplinary discussion where treatment plans are often influenced by estimation of patient fitness.

Further information

If you are a health care professional and would like some further information, click the link below for our staff information leaflet.

Download the information leaflet

References

1. Biganzoli et al. Management of elderly patients with breast cancer: updated recommendations of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA). The Lancet Oncology Apr;13(4):e148-60.
2. Cardoso et al. ESMO Early breast cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Annals of Oncology 30: 1194–1220.
3. National Audit of Breast Cancer in Older Patients. 2019 Annual Report.