Tuberc Respir Dis.  2002 Oct;53(4):379-388. 10.4046/trd.2002.53.4.379.

Prognostic Factors for Survival in Patients with Stage IV Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejon, Korea. sykim@cnu.ac.kr

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer areknown to have a poor prognosis, the prognostic factors for survival have not been well evaluated. Such factors may be different from those for overall survival. This study was performed to analyze the prognostic factors for survival and the variation of survival according to metastatic organ, in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From January 1997 to December 2000, 151 patients with confirmed stage IV non-small cell lung cancer were enrolled into this study retrospectively. The clinical and laboratory data were analyzed using univariate Kaplan-Meier and Multivariate Cox regression models.
RESULTS
On univariate analysis, age, performance status, serum albumin level, weight loss, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), systemic chemotherapy, the number of metastatic organs and serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level were significant factors (p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, important factors for survival were ECOG performance (relative risk of death [RR]: 2.709), systemic chemotherapy (RR: 1.944), serum LDH level (RR: 1.819) and FEV1 (RR: 1.774) (p<0.05). Metastasis to the brain and liver was also a significant factor on univariate analysis). The presence of single lung metastasis was associated with better survival than that of other metastatic organs (p=0.000).
CONCLUSION
We confirmed that performance status and systemic chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors, as has been recognized. The survival of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer patients was different according to the metastatic organs. Among the metastatic sites, only patients with metastasis to the lung showed better survival than that of other sites, while metastasis of the brain or liver was associated with worse survival than that of other sites.

Keyword

Stage IV; Non small cell lung cancer; Prognostic factor

MeSH Terms

Brain
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung*
Drug Therapy
Forced Expiratory Volume
Humans
L-Lactate Dehydrogenase
Liver
Lung
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Serum Albumin
Weight Loss
L-Lactate Dehydrogenase
Serum Albumin
Full Text Links
  • TRD
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr