Serum albumin level as a potential marker for deciding chemotherapy or best supportive care in elderly, advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with poor performance status

Table 4 Analysis using a Cox proportional hazard model to verify the prognostic factor associated with survival in the chemotherapy group (N = 31)

	Hazard ratio	95% confidence interval	p-value
Univariate analysis
Age	0.995	0.884–1.12	0.929
ECOG Performance status = 2	0.994	0.453–2.18	0.987
Brinkman Index	0.999	0.998–1.00	0.104
Emphysema	0.649	0.241–1.74	0.391
Diabetes mellitus	0.990	0.448–2.189	0.980
Squamous cell carcinoma	1.15	0.420–3.12	0.792
Major diameter of the primary site	1.02	0.997–1.03	0.102
Brain metastasis	2.82	0.986–8.04	0.0533
Bone metastasis	3.07	1.24–7.57	0.0150
Liver metastasis	1.29	0.294–5.65	0.736
Adrenal gland metastasis	4.77	1.21–18.8	0.0253
Carboplatin-based doublet therapy	1.12	0.513–2.46	0.773
Number of treatment cycles	0.665	0.483–0.915	0.0122
Lymphocyte count	1.00	0.999–1.00	0.321
Hemoglobin	0.789	0.621–1.00	0.0511
Albumin	0.180	0.0694–0.465	0.000408
Lactate dehydrogenase	1.00	0.998–1.00	0.455
Calcium	1.15	0.764–1.72	0.51
C-reactive protein	1.08	0.961–1.21	0.196
Multivariate analysis
Bone metastasis	1.98	0.666–5.90	0.2190
Adrenal gland metastasis	2.19	0.470–10.17	0.3180
Number of treatment cycles	0.744	0.518–1.07	0.110
Albumin	0.18	0.0638–0.508	0.00121

In the univariate analysis, serum albumin level, number of cycles, the existence of bone metastasis, and the existence of adrenal gland metastasis, all with p-values <0.05, were selected as candidate factors. A multivariate analysis identified serum albumin level as an independent factor associated with survival
Abbreviations: ECOG Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

ISSN: 1471-2407