A prognostic model can be used to determine the efficacy of radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy in treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study published in Frontiers in Oncology.
In this study, researchers retrospectively reviewed 243 patients with metastatic NSCLC in two prospective studies. They then developed a prognostic model based on the results of a Cox regression analysis.
According to the results, the following factors independently predicted poor overall survival (OS): male sex; Karnofsky Performance Status score <80; <4 chemotherapy cycles; hemoglobin level ?120 g/L; neutrophil count >5.8×109/L; and platelet count >220×109/L. Patients were further divided into one of three risk groups: those having two or fewer risk factors were scored as the low-risk group, those having three risk factors were scored as the moderate-risk group, and those having four or more risk factors were scored as the high-risk group.
The results showed that in the low-risk group, the one-year OS was 67.7%, two-year OS was 32.1%, and three-year OS was 19.3%; in the moderate-risk group, one-year OS was 59.6%, two-year OS was 18.0%, and three-year OS was 7.9%. The OS rates for the high-risk group were 26.2%, 7.9%, and 0%, respectively.
“[Patients with] metastatic NSCLC treated with chemotherapy in combination with thoracic radiation may be classified as low-risk, moderate-risk, or high-risk group using six independent prognostic factors. This prognostic model may help design the study and develop the plans of individualized treatment,” the researchers concluded.
