title: Important prognostic factors for survival in patients with malignant pleural effusion.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The approach to palliative treatment of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) should be individualized because these patients generally have poor survival. Our study aimed to develop a model to identify prognostic factors or survival time in patients diagnosed with MPE.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective, descriptive, observational study to identify prognostic factors related to MPE in patients with a confirmed cancer diagnosis. Cox regression analysis was used to determine significant potential prognostic factors with respect to survival time. Survival time was defined as the time from pathological diagnosis to death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and sixty-five patients were included; 77 were men (47%) and 88 were women (53%). The median age was 60 years, and all of the patients were pathologically proven to have MPE. Non-small-cell lung cancer (36.0%), breast carcinoma (26%), and lymphoma (13.0%) were the most frequently diagnosed tumors. The median overall survival of patients from the initial diagnosis was 5 months (range: 1.0-96.0 months). Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis showed that survival was significantly related to the following prognostic factors: ECOG PS (hazard ratio [HR] 10.0, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 5.96 to 18.50, p < 0.0001), primary cancer site (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.22, p < 0.01), positive pleural cytology (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.78, p = 0.04), and positive histology (HR 1.33, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.81, p = 0.04). Other potential independent diagnostic factors that were examined did not affect survival. Cox regression analysis showed that only the ECOG PS was highly predictive of survival (HR 73.58, 95% CI 23.44 to 230.95, p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ECOG PS is an independent predictor of survival in patients with MPE at initial diagnosis. This prognostic factor can help physicians select patients for appropriate palliative treatment of this syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery Division, Hospital do Câncer I, Instituto Nacional de Câncer/Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. mauro.zamboni@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mauro Musa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Zamboni
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Division, Hospital Antonio Pedro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil. ctsilvajunior@predialnet.com.br.
authors.forename: Cyro Teixeira
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery Division, Hospital do Câncer I, Instituto Nacional de Câncer/Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. rodrigobaretta@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baretta
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery Division, Hospital do Câncer I, Instituto Nacional de Câncer/Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. edsontoscano@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Edson Toscano
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Division, Hospital Antonio Pedro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil. gilpcard@globo.com.br.
authors.forename: Gilberto Perez
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005122:Exudates and Transudates / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D005947:Glucose