# Impact of rheumatoid arthritis on survival in older adults with cancer

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $137,103

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMARY
 With the use of newer therapies that improve clinical outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an increasing
number of older adults (1.3 million) are now living with RA, a chronic, inflammatory disease. RA is also
associated with an increased risk of certain cancers compared to the general population. Although an
increasing number of older adults are living with RA and cancer, clinical trials often exclude older adults. There
remains very little evidence-based guidance for management of older adults with comorbid RA and cancer.
 Although a few studies have examined the survival of patients with both RA and cancer relative to those
with cancer alone, these are based on cohorts of patients from several years ago (prior to widespread use of
biologics). Given the dramatic changes in treatment of RA and cancer in recent years, an examination of
survival for major forms of cancer in more contemporary cohorts of older adults with RA is warranted. Similarly,
very little is known about the impact of geriatric syndromes such as frailty on outcomes (e.g., cancer survival)
among patients with comorbid RA and cancer. Also, it has been shown that reduced lean mass and high fat
mass are prevalent in patients with RA alone or cancer alone and impact survival but very little is known about
the changes in body composition among older adults with concurrent RA and cancer.
 The overall goal of this proposal is to examine the association between RA and overall survival (Aim 1),
body composition, frailty, and quality of life (QOL) (Aim 2) in older adults with cancer compared to those with
cancer without RA. To achieve this goal, we have developed two complementary aims. Aim 1A will use the
nationwide Veterans Affairs databases to assess the differences in survival between the two groups of older
adults (cancer with RA versus cancer without RA) and Aim1B will examine the association between frailty and
survival among those with RA and cancer. Aim 2 is a cross-sectional study and will include measures of body
composition, Fried frailty phenotype, and patient-reported QOL- measures that are unavailable in large
databases. We will compare these measures between older adults with RA and cancer to those with cancer
without RA.
 Together with my mentorship team, the career development and research plan, this GEMSSTAR award will
enable me to obtain the necessary training in the principles of geriatrics, such as assessment of frailty and
sarcopenia, to help advance the research in this area and my career as an investigator focused on improving
outcomes for older adults with rheumatic diseases and cancer. Results from this study have the potential to
provide critical preliminary data for a future R01 application where we expand our findings in a multicenter
prospective cohort to risk stratify older adults with rheumatic diseases and cancer to ultimately develop
interventions to improve their quality of life and potentially survival.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10906992
- **Project number:** 5R03AG082857-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Namrata Singh
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $137,103
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-15 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10906992

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10906992, Impact of rheumatoid arthritis on survival in older adults with cancer (5R03AG082857-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10906992. Licensed CC0.

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