Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Combination Chemotherapy

In an attempt to elucidate the prognostic importance of various pretreatment factors and to confirm the effectiveness of chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 29 pretreatment clinical parameters including chemotherapy regimen were retrospectively analyzed in 164 patients with NSCLC enrolled in the protocol studies of combination chemotherapy between 1982 and 1990. Using univariate analysis of the x2 test and generalized Wilcoxon test, and multivariate analysis of Cox's proportional hazard model, patients were analyzed to determine factors affecting their prognosis. Univariate analysis demonstrated that stage, liver, bone or bone marrow involvement, number of extrathoracic metastasis, performance status (PS), serum albumin, CRP, NSE, cholinesterase, hemoglobin and chemotherapy regimen were related to the outcome of patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that independently significant factors influencing patient survival were in the order of serum albumin, chemotherapy regimen, stage, PS and LDH, indicating that chemotherapy exerts an impact on patient survival with advanced NSCLC.