J Cancer Res Clin Oncol DOI 10.1007/s00432-014-1688-1
Original Article – Clinical Oncology
Prediction of survival in terminally ill cancer patients at the time of terminal cancer diagnosis Yu Jung Kim · Su‑Jung Kim · June Koo Lee · Won‑Suk Choi · Jin Hyun Park · Hee Jun Kim · Sung Hoon Sim · Keun‑Wook Lee · Se‑Hoon Lee · Jee Hyun Kim · Dong‑Wan Kim · Jong Seok Lee · Yung‑Jue Bang · Dae Seog Heo
Received: 24 February 2014 / Accepted: 17 April 2014 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Purpose We aimed to investigate the prognostic factors that can predict terminal stage survival (TSS) at the time of terminal cancer diagnosis. Methods We prospectively evaluated 141 patients immediately after the diagnosis of terminal cancer by their attending oncologists. A total of 32 factors, including performance status, clinical prediction of survival, time to terminal cancer (TTC), clinical symptoms, signs, and laboratory tests including the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), were analyzed. TSS was defined as the time from the diagnosis of terminal cancer to death. Results The mean age of the 141 patients studied was 58.7 years, and 53 were female (38 %). The median TSS was 1.7 months (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.43–1.97). In the univariate analyses, the TSS was significantly
Y. J. Kim · S.-J. Kim · J. K. Lee · W.-S. Choi · J. H. Park · S. H. Sim · K.-W. Lee · S.-H. Lee · J. H. Kim · D.-W. Kim · J. S. Lee · Y.-J. Bang · D. S. Heo (*) Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak‑ro, Jongno‑gu, Seoul 110‑744, Republic of Korea e-mail:
[email protected] Y. J. Kim · K.-W. Lee · J. H. Kim · J. S. Lee Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea S.-J. Kim · S.-H. Lee · D.-W. Kim · Y.-J. Bang · D. S. Heo Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea J. H. Park Seoul Municipal Boramae Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea H. J. Kim Chung-Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
associated with 16 of the 32 factors tested. In the multivariate analysis, a lower Karnofsky performance status (KPS), a shorter TTC (