title: The use of serum albumin for further classification of Stage III non-oat cell lung cancer and its therapeutic implications.
abstract: The use of the preadmission serum albumin level for predicting survival was evaluated in 81 patients with Stage III disease, 59 with unresectable and 22 with resectable primary tumors. A serum albumin of less than 3.4 gm/dl in a patient with unresectable Stage III disease indicates a poor prognosis with an accuracy that supersedes that obtained from a clinical assessment of the anatomical extent of disease. Seventeen of the 22 patients with resectable Stage III disease had a preadmission level of albumin of 3.4 gm/dl or greater. The median survival was 20.5 months, which was statistically longer than 9.9 months for 12 patients with unresectable Stage III M0 disease and an albumin level of 3.4 gm/dl or greater (p less than 0.05). Five of the 22 patients who underwent resection had a preadmission albumin level of less than 3.4 gm/dl. The median survival for these patients was 9.7 months compared with 20.5 months for those with a level of 3.4 gm/dl or greater. These findings suggest that resection of Stage III disease in patients with an albumin level of 3.4 gm/dl or greater prolongs survival. Another group of 5 patients with resectable Stage III disease and an albumin level of less than 3.4 gm/dl were force-fed an elemental diet while undergoing a regimen of preoperative radiation therapy. There was no improvement in survival, and 3 died of the disease prior to resection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D002283:Carcinoma, Bronchogenic / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin