Prognostic impact of baseline quality of life status among patients with advanced gastric cancer; results from two randomized studies.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of baseline quality of life status (as assessed by the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire) on the prognosis of patients with advanced gastric cancer. This study represents a pooled analysis from the control arms of two clinical trials (NCT00290966; NCT00678535). Both control arms evaluated fluoropyrimidine/cisplatin combination in the first line treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to assess factors affecting overall and progression-free survival. Factors with P < 0.05 in univariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis. A total of 654 patients with advanced gastric cancer were evaluated in the current study. Cox regression analyses were conducted to determine factors which might affect overall and progression-free survival. The following factors were predictive of better overall survival in a multivariate Cox regression model: lower ECOG score (P = 0.031) and higher EQ-5D score (P = 0.001). Likewise, the following factors were predictive of better progression-free survival in a multivariate Cox regression model: lower ECOG score (P = 0.005) and higher EQ-5D score (P = 0.041). Advanced gastric cancer patients with better baseline quality of life status have better overall and progression-free survival. Given the EQ-5D easy-to-use model, extending its use in routine clinical practice settings should be considered.