[Quality of life as an independent prognostic factor in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in general practice]

Although quality of life (QOL) has become an important aspect of lung cancer trials, it has rarely been evaluated in general practice. We have been assessing QOL in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in general practice. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed factors of the baseline QOL score in relation to response to chemotherapy and survival in 43 consecutive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients who received chemotherapy. QOL was evaluated with the QLQ-C30 of The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. In multivariate analysis, the cognitive functioning score was the only significant factor in both response to treatment and survival. In conclusion, the QOL score is an independent factor in both response to chemotherapy and survival even in general practice; and cognitive functioning is the most important factor.