DETERMINANTS OF PROGNOSIS IN ADVANCED COLORECTAL-CANCER

The relations between patient characteristics and prognosis were examined in 340 patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy. Variables were tested for relation to survival and responses in univariate and multivariate analyses. Performance status (P < 0.001), number of symptoms (P < 0.001) and haemoglobin level (P < 0.001) were the most important variables for survival in univariate analyses. In the multivariate analyses of survival, haemoglobin level (P < 0.001) and disease-free interval (P < 0.01) were the most influential variables. In addition, number of symptoms (P < 0.01), performance status (P < 0.05) and treatment of the primary tumour (P < 0.05) were independently related to survival. The main independent determinant of response was haemoglobin level (P < 0.01). Besides these pretreatment characteristics, type of chemotherapy regimen influenced both response rate and survival in multivariate analyses (P < 0.001). We conclude that haemoglobin level, disease-free interval, symptoms and performance status are important prognostic factors in advanced colorectal cancer. The distribution of these variables may influence the results of clinical trials.