Abstract Objective: The prognosis of terminal head and neck cancer is traditionally determined using indices such as the palliative prognosis index. We aimed to develop an alternative prognosis index using… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Objective: The prognosis of terminal head and neck cancer is traditionally determined using indices such as the palliative prognosis index. We aimed to develop an alternative prognosis index using clinico-biological data. Methods: This retrospective case-series study included 33 head and neck cancer patients whose cancer recurred despite receiving radiation therapy between April 2010 and April 2014. Clinico-biological data were collected the day patients were diagnosed as terminal. Bivariate correlation analyses were performed on survival times and clinico-biological data. For multivariate regression analyses, patients were divided into two groups: (1) patients who survived >120 days, and (2) those who survived <120 days. Group clinico-biological data were used to determine survival-time cutoff points for the prognosis index. Results: Bivariate analyses revealed significant correlations between survival time and BMI, hemoglobin, albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), Onodera’s Prognostic Nutritional Index (O-PNI), modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS), and Performance Status (PS). Multivariate analyses showed a strong correlation between survival time and BMI. The two groups differed significantly in BMI, albumin, CRP, O-PNI, and mGPS. In multivariate analyses BMI, CRP, and O-PNI differed significantly in the two groups. Conclusion: BMI ≤16.4, CRP ≥1.01, and O-PNI ≤33.4 are significant predictors of long-term survival in terminal cancer patients.
               
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