Patient-Reported Symptom Burden After Cancer Surgery in Older Adults: A Population-Level Analysis

Perioperative Supportive Care Interventions to Enhance Surgical Outcomes for Older Adults With Cancer: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

Older adults with cancer have unique needs, which likely influence surgical outcomes in the geriatric oncology population. We conducted a systematic review to describe the literature focused on perioperative supportive care interventions for older adults with cancer undergoing surgery.

METHODS

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we performed a comprehensive search using the Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Embase databases for literature published from January 2010 to October 2023. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focusing on supportive care interventions that enrolled adults older than 60 years with cancer.

RESULTS

We included 11 RCTs with 2,177 patients in this review. Patients' age ranged from 60 to 95, and the median number of patients per study was 147 (range, 44-690). Most studies included patients with colorectal cancer (81.8%). Half of the studies (54.5%) evaluated exercise interventions, and the remaining assessed geriatric assessment-guided interventions (27.2%), nutrition optimization (9.1%), and patient empowerment (9.1%). Primary outcomes included postoperative complications, quality of life, feasibility of exercise programs, inspiratory muscle endurance, and hospital length of stay, among others. All studies had postoperative complications as a primary or secondary outcome. We found implementation challenges that influenced several studies, including high dropout rates and intervention fidelity.

CONCLUSION

We found 11 studies focused on perioperative supportive care interventions in older adults with cancer undergoing surgery. Notably, interventions involved exercise, geriatric assessment-guided care, nutrition optimization, and patient empowerment. We also found heterogeneity in intervention modality and outcome assessment, thus demonstrating a need for ongoing work to address the unique needs of the geriatric oncology population.

"It's Incapacitated Me in so Many Ways": Older Adults' Lived Experience With Postoperative Symptoms at Home After Major Elective Surgery

OBJECTIVE

This qualitative study aimed to explore the challenges faced by older adults regarding the postoperative symptom experience after major elective surgery.

BACKGROUND

Although extensively studied in oncology settings, the impact of postoperative symptom burden remains largely underexplored in elective major surgery among older adults.

METHODS

We employed convenience sampling to recruit adults aged 65 years or above undergoing major elective surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. Semistructured interviews regarding the surgical experience were conducted at 1 and 3 months postoperatively. An inductive qualitative approach was used to identify emerging themes. Symptoms revealed by participants during interviews were also captured.

RESULTS

Nineteen participants completed a 1-month postoperative interview, and 17 additionally completed a 3-month interview. Three themes emerged: (1) postoperative symptoms significantly impacted valued life activities and psychosocial well-being, (2) participants felt "caught off guard" by the intensity and duration of postoperative symptoms, and (3) participants expressed the need for additional support, resources, and education on symptom management. The most frequently mentioned symptoms were postoperative pain (n=12, 63.1%), gastrointestinal discomfort (n=8, 42.1%), and anxiety/stress (n=8, 42.1%) at 1-month postsurgery compared with pain and depression (both n=6, 35.3%) at 3 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Study participants were surprised by the negative impact of postoperative symptoms on their psychosocial well-being and ability to engage in valued life activities. Symptom burden is an important patient-reported outcome that should be assessed postoperatively. Interventions to minimize postoperative symptom burden in older adults could optimize quality of life and participation in meaningful activities during surgical recovery.