Patient selection: rectal cancer
Outcome: overall survival
Parameters identified on multivariate analysis:
(1) pre-operative serum albumin
(2) circumferential margin status
(3) pathologic stage
|
Parameter
|
Finding
|
Points
|
|
pre-operative serum albumin
|
>= 35 g/L
|
0
|
|
|
< 35 g/L
|
1
|
|
circumferential margin
|
negative for tumor
|
0
|
|
|
positive for tumor
|
1
|
|
pathologic stage
|
Stage I or II
|
0
|
|
|
Stage III or IV
|
1
|
where:
• The hazard ratio for each factor was around 2.
total number of key risk factors =
= SUM(points for all 3 parameters)
Additional factors associated with a worse survival:
(1) older age
(2) perineural invasion
(3) lymphovascular invasio
(4) angioinvasion
Interpretation:
• minimum number of key risk factors: 0
• maximum number of key risk factors: 3
• The greater the number of key risk factors the worse the overall survival.
