Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Competing-Risk Nomogram for Predicting Cancer-Specific Survival in Multiple Primary Colorectal Cancer Patients after Surgery
Published on: September 27, 2024
Symptoms and survival in patients with advanced disease
1M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. Jhomsi@mdanderson.org
Abstract:
Predicting survival in patients with advanced disease is challenging for health care providers. Accurate survival estimation using symptom assessment may assist physicians and patients in determining treatment options. This report analyzes prospective studies in adult patients with a median/mean survival of 6 months or less and identifies symptoms that are associated with decreased survival. To be included in this analysis, a study needed to have at least one symptom associated with decreased survival in a univariate or multivariate analysis. Twenty-two studies were identified and 15 symptoms were associated with decreased survival. Anorexia, delirium, and dyspnea were associated with decreased survival in most studies. Delirium and anorexia (but not dyspnea) were associated with decreased survival in most studies that included patients with a median survival of 30 days or less. More research is needed to investigate any associations between symptom characteristics and survival in patients with advanced disease. Short assessment tools using symptoms identified in this report, with a focus on symptoms that were found in multiple studies, need to be developed to better predict survival and guide patient treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Survival Analysis
Assumptions of Survival Analysis
Heart Failure IV: Classification and Diagnostic Evaluation
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-III: Symptoms and Complications.
Symptoms of COPD can be classified as primary or systemic. Primary symptoms relate to reduced airflow, while systemic or extrapulmonary symptoms relate to COPD's broader impact on the body.
Primary Symptoms of COPD:
Kaplan-Meier Approach
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...