[Prognostic factors in unresectable lung cancer]

Seventy-seven prognostic factors influencing survival time in patients with unresectable lung cancer treated from 1964 to 1983 at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital were analyzed using univariate analysis by log rank test and multivariate analysis by proportional hazard model of Cox. Statistical significance using univariate analysis was identified in 19 factors in small cell lung cancer patients, and in 40 factors in non-small cell lung cancer patients. The string prognostic factors determined by multivariate analysis were, in the order of importance, serum LDH level, chest pain, peripheral lymphocyte count, bone marrow metastasis, brain metastasis, age, and performance status in small cell lung cancer patients. These 7 factors had a p value of less than 0.01. On the other hand, they were the number of metastatic sites, performance status, serum albumin level, serum LDH level, sex, BUN level, N category according to TNM staging system in non-small cell lung cancer patients, with a p value of less than 0.001. The most important prognostic factors were serum LDH level in small cell lung cancer, and the number of metastatic sites and performance status in non-small cell lung cancer. A metastasis to bone marrow or brain was a more important prognostic factor than overall M category in small cell lung cancer patients, and the number of metastatic sites rather than clinical stage classification or TNM staging system in non-small cell lung cancer patients with respect to staging system. Accurate evaluation of the treatment results in unresectable lung cancer patients must take the strong prognostic factors into account.