418 Background: Frailty has been associated with adverse postoperative outcomes. However, little is known about its correlation with survival in resected pancreatic cancer. This study examined the correlation of frailty with postoperative outcomes and survival after pancreatectomy for cancer. Methods: Data from National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) patients (n = 7400) who underwent pancreatectomy between 2011 to 2013. A modified frailty index (mFI) validated for use in NSQIP was used to examine correlations between frailty and postoperative outcomes. California Cancer Registry (CCR) data for patients (n = 4959) who underwent pancreatectomy for cancer between 2000 to 2012 was used to assess the association between the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), as a surrogate for frailty, and overall survival. Results: The distribution of NSQIP patients according to the mFI was 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 in 2797 (37.8%), 3422 (46.2), 1074 (14.5), 104 (1.4) and 3 (0.04) respectively. The patients were divided to non frail (mFI = 0), mildly frail (mFI = 1-2), or severely frail (mFI3 ≥ 3). Overall, 8.7% of patients experienced a grade 4 Clavien complication and 3.1% experienced postoperative mortality. Worsening frailty correlated with an increase in grade 4 Clavien complications (non-frail: 6.3% vs. mildly frail: 9.7% vs. severely frail: 26.2%; p < 0.001) and mortality (1.9% vs. 3.8% vs. 4.7% respectively; p < 0.001). The majority of CCR patients had similarly few comorbidities: CCI: 0, 1, ≥ 2 in 3869 (77.8%), 861 (17.31%) and 243 (4.89%) respectively. Median survival decreased as CCI increased (for CCI 0, 1 and ≥ 2 was 23 vs. 19 vs. 15 months respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Frailty is a powerful correlate of postoperative outcome and survival for resected pancreatic cancer patients and is an important consideration in planning for surgical intervention.
