ABSTRACT

Among the older patient population, there is wide heterogeneity in physical functioning and tolerance to cancer treatment. The term ‘‘frail’’ is often used to describe those patients with the greatest vulnerability for adverse outcomes, including dependency, hospitalization, disability, need for long-term care, and mortality. The AmericanMedical Association estimates that 40% of adults aged 80 and over are frail, and that the majority of the 1.6 million residents in nursing homes are frail (1).