title: Estimating survival for patients with late-stage cancer.
abstract: The accuracy of physicians in estimating survival is known to be poor. This paper describes a statistical method for determining length of survival which was developed as a potential adjunct to clinical prognosis for patients with late-stage cancer. Age at diagnosis, staging, histology, and treatment were collected from the tumor registry on a sample of patients. Weights were derived from regression analyses for each of the variables in predicting months of survival. The method of applying these weights prospectively for individual patients is described.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis