Nirmala Bhoo Pathy, Professor at the University of Malaya and Adjunct Professor at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, shared on LinkedIn:
“A good ECOG score does not tell us everything about a patient’s health.
The latest paper from our research group, led by Yee Yin Hoo, highlights an important clinical blind spot.
Among 1,117 patients with breast and colorectal cancer in Malaysia, one in three had clustered cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic conditions. However, their performance status and receipt of cancer treatment were comparable to patients with low comorbidity.
These are the apparently well patients whose underlying cardiovascular and renal risks may go unrecognised.
The clinical message? Look beyond performance status and comorbidity counts. The pattern of comorbidity, drawn from information already in the medical record, may help identify who needs closer risk assessment and monitoring from diagnosis, especially where imaging and specialist care are limited.
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