Normative data and trends for a disease- and site-specific quality of life
(QL) instrument for individuals with lung cancel; the Lung Cancer Symptom S
cale (LCSS), are presented to facilitate the user's interpretation of test
scores. Data for patients enrolled in two large, identical, randomized tria
ls of a new combination chemotherapy regimen for patients with stages III a
nd IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were combined into one dataset (n=
673). For these patients with a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) of 60-10
0%, QL had been prospectively measured at baseline, day 29 and every 6 week
s thereafter. Descriptive statistics for the LCSS are presented for three t
ime points (baseline, day 29 and day 71) and for specific demographic and d
isease-related characteristics (age, gender, race, performance status and s
tage of disease) to provide expected values and their variability during ch
emotherapy. Data from a small dataset of 63 NSCLC inpatients with KPS score
s of 20-50% are also presented for a comparison sample of supportive care f
or inpatients and hospice patients. For the 673 NSCLC patients at baseline
there were no significant differences in QL by age, gen-der, or race. Major
presenting lung cancer symptoms at baseline for this combined sample were
dyspnea 87%, cough 86% pain 81%, loss of appetite 75%, and hemoptysis 41%.
Of these patients, 81% had three or more presenting symptoms at baseline (2
% had no symptoms; 5%, one symptom; 12% two symptoms; 18%, three symptoms;
27%, four symptoms; and 36%, five symptoms). The mean LCSS baseline score (
best = 0; worst = 100) was 26.56 (SD 16.10). The mean scores for day 29 and
day 71 were 25.46 (SD 16.52) and 25.30 (SD 16.93), respectively, but follo
w-up assessments on progressers were not obtained. Stage III patients had a
mean LCSS score of 23.7 (SD 15.1), whereas stage IV patients reported a me
an LCSS score of 27.3 (SD 16.3). The mean LCSS score for the group with KPS
60-70% was 34.8 (SD 15.5), and that for the group with KPS 80-100% was 23.
3 (SD 15.1). The mean LCSS score for the lower performance group, with KPS
scores of 20-50% at baseline, was 46.85 (SD 17.65).