Cited 115 times since 2006 (6.5 per year) source: EuropePMC Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology, Volume 17, Issue 11, 12 2 2006, Pages 1698-1704 Is a patient's self-reported health-related quality of life a prognostic factor for survival in non-small-cell lung cancer patients? A multivariate analysis of prognostic factors of EORTC study 08975. Efficace F, Bottomley A, Smit EF, Lianes P, Legrand C, Debruyne C, Schramel F, Smit HJ, Gaafar R, Biesma B, Manegold C, Coens C, Giaccone G, Van Meerbeeck J, EORTC Lung Cancer Group and Quality of Life Unit
Background
The aim of this prognostic factor analysis was to investigate if a patient's self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) provided independent prognostic information for survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.
Patients and methods
Pretreatment HRQOL was measured in 391 advanced NSCLC patients using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the EORTC Lung Cancer module (QLQ-LC13). The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. In addition, a bootstrap validation technique was used to assess the stability of the outcomes.
Results
The final multivariate Cox regression model retained four parameters as independent prognostic factors for survival: male gender with a hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32 (95% CI 1.03-1.69; P = 0.03); performance status (0 to 1 versus 2) with HR = 1.63 (95% CI 1.04-2.54; P = 0.032); patient's self-reported score of pain with HR= 1.11 (95% CI 1.07-1.16; P < 0.001) and dysphagia with HR = 1.12 (95% CI 1.04-1.21; P = 0.003). A 10-point shift worse in the scale measuring pain and dysphagia translated into an 11% and 12% increased in the likelihood of death respectively. A risk group categorization was also developed.
Conclusion
The results suggest that patients' self-reported HRQOL provide independent prognostic information for survival. This finding supports the collection of such data in routine clinical practice.
