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BACKGROUND The impact of baseline frailty status versus that of chronological age on surgical outcomes of metastatic brain tumor patients remains largely unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate this relationship for preoperative risk stratification using a large national database. METHODS The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried to extract data of metastatic brain tumor patients who underwent surgery between 2015 and 2019 (n=5,943). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the effect of age and modified frailty index-5 (mFI-5) on mortality, major complications, unplanned readmission and reoperation, extended length of stay (eLOS), and non-home discharge. RESULTS Both univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that frailty status was significantly predictive of 30-day mortality, major complications, eLOS, and non-home discharge. Although increasing age was also a significant predictor of eLOS and discharge to non-home destination, effect sizes were smaller compared with frailty. CONCLUSIONS The present study, based on analysis of data from a large national registry, shows that frailty, when compared with age, is a superior predictor of postoperative outcomes in metastatic brain tumor patients. A future prospective study, namely a randomized controlled trial, would be beneficial in helping to corroborate the findings of this retrospective study.