Life-expectancy of patients enrolled in phase 1 clinical trials: a systematic review of published prognostic models.

Life-expectancy superior to 3 months is a key-eligibility criterion for contemporary oncology phase 1 trials. Nevertheless, there is no reliable and consensual guidance for estimating this criterion. We have conducted a systematic review of published studies investigating the risk factor for 90-day mortality and the inherent generated scores. Nine studies have been published on this topic. Only two of these prognostic models have been validated on an independent dataset. Most of the models are based on a very subjective and investigator-dependent parameter: the performance status. The predictive performance of these prognostic models is poorly evaluated.