G. Fountzilas et al., PROGNOSTIC VARIABLES IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED COLORECTAL-CANCER TREATED WITH FLUOROURACIL AND LEUCOVORIN-BASED CHEMOTHERAPY, Medical and pediatric oncology, 26(5), 1996, pp. 305-317
Possible prognostic variables for tumor response, time to progression
(TTP), and survival in 141 patients with advanced colorectal cancer tr
eated with fluorouracil acid leucovorin-based chemotherapy were analyz
ed. None of the Variables examined for their possible influence on tum
or response attained significance in the stepwise logistic regression.
In the univariate analysis, variables found to be strongly associated
with TTP were performance status (PS) (P = 0.0301), liver involvement
(P = 0.030), and the initial values of WBC (P = 0.0319), lactic dehyd
rogenase (LDH; P = 0.0053), gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (gamma-GT; P
= 0.0013), alkaline phosphatase (ALP; P = 0.0186), albumin (P = 0.000
4), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA; P = 0.0014). In the Cox analysi
s, liver involvement (P = 0.0553), albumin (P = 0.0181), PS (P = 0.048
4),and ALP (P = 0.0553) were retained as independently significant var
iables. When only patients with liver metastases were included in the
analysis, then only albumin (P < 0.001) demonstrated a prognostic sign
ificance. Also, in the univariate analysis, variables predicting survi
val were PS (P = 0.0230), grade (P = 0.0060), liver involvement (P = 0
.0002), LDH (P = 0.0001), gamma-GT (P < 0.001), ALP (P = 0.0006), albu
min (P = 0.0309), and CEA (P = 0.0005). With the multivariate analysis
, gamma-GT (P = 0.0004), albumin (P = 0.0634), and CEA (P = 0.0804) we
re selected as significant. in those patients who presented with liver
involvement, variables predicted survival were gamma-GT (P = 0.0041),
albumin (P = 0.0442), and the percentage of involved liver parenchyma
(P = 0.0690). These results could be helpful for the stratification o
f future trials in advanced colorectal cancer. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, In
c.