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Results for “Karnofsky Performance Status”

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PubMed1977

The treatment of advanced carcinoma of the bladder with a combination of adriamycin and 5-fluorouracil.

52 patients with advanced bladder cancer, no longer controlled by conventional therapy, have been treated by combination chemotherapy with Adriamycin and 5-fluorouracil. The objective remission rate has been 40%. The morbidity of the chemotherapy has not been excessive. The response has not been related to the histological grade of the primary tumour and previous treatment. Patients with a good performance status (Karnofsky index) have responded better than those with a poor performance status.

Doxorubicin↗

PubMed2026

Longitudinal functional trajectory and surgical outcomes after intracranial meningioma resection: implications for surgical decision-making in older patients.

OBJECTIVE: As the population ages, meningiomas are increasingly encountered in older patients, yet longitudinal functional outcomes following surgery across age groups remain incompletely characterized. This study evaluated age-related differences in clinical and tumor characteristics, functional trajectory, and surgical outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 396 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for intracranial meningiomas at a single academic center between January 2023 and September 2025. Patients were stratified into 5 age groups (< 65, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, and ≥ 80 years). Neurological deficits and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) were assessed preoperatively, at discharge, and at last follow-up. Logistic regression analyses identified predictors of prolonged length of stay (LOS) (> 5 days) and poor functional outcome at discharge (KPS < 80). RESULTS: Older patients presented with greater comorbidity burden, larger tumors, and lower preoperative KPS (all p < 0.05), while gross-total resection was achieved at comparable rates across all age groups (p = 0.504). A clinically meaningful inflection point was observed around age 75 years, with KPS < 80 at discharge rising from 7.4% and 9.7% in the < 65-year and 70- to 74-year subgroups and to 36.2% and 57.1% in the 75- to 79-year and ≥ 80-year subgroups (p < 0.001), and median LOS increased from 4 days in the younger groups to 9 and 7 days in the 75- to 79-year and ≥ 80-year groups (p < 0.001). However, recovery rates among patients who experienced functional decline at discharge were comparable across age strata. On multivariable analysis, independent predictors of prolonged LOS were age ≥ 75 years (OR 2.31, p = 0.019), diabetes mellitus (OR 2.85, p = 0.004), posterior fossa location (OR 2.1, p = 0.008), tumor diameter (OR 1.33, p < 0.001), postoperative edema (OR 2.58, p = 0.015), and neurosurgical complications (OR 3.18, p = 0.002). Independent predictors of poor functional outcome at discharge were age ≥ 75 years (OR 5.84, p < 0.001), lower preoperative KPS (OR 2.8, p < 0.001), posterior fossa location (OR 3.72, p = 0.003), neurosurgical complications (OR 3.56, p = 0.008), and recurrent meningioma (OR 2.89, p = 0.025). Among 70 endoscopic endonasal approach patients, higher preoperative deficit burden and subtotal resection rates were observed compared to open craniotomy, though overall functional outcomes were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical risk in meningioma resection increases from age 75 years onwards, yet recovery capacity following initial functional decline remains similar across all age groups. Preoperative functional status, tumor location, comorbidity burden, and recurrence history should guide surgical decision-making rather than age alone.

Humans↗

PubMed1978

Variables for predicting serious toxicity (vinblastine dose, performance status, and prior therapeutic experience): chemotherapy for metastatic testicular cancer with cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II), vinblastine, and bleomycin.

Combination chemotherapy utilizing high-dose vinblastine, bleomycin, and cisdichlorodiammineplatinum(II) (CDDP) is effective treatment for metastatic testicular cancer. Unfortunately, it is frequently associated with serious toxicity. In a series of 14 patients receiving 65 treatment cycles, several variables were examined as putative risk factors for prediction of serious toxicity. These included drug dose normalized to body weight or surface area, interval since previous cycle, prior therapeutic experience with either radiation therapy or other cytotoxic chemotherapy, and Karnofsky performance status. The strongest determinant of serious toxicity was the vinblastine dose calculated according to body weight. The next most influential prognostic variables were the performance status and a history of previous treatment with either radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Serious toxicity may be anticipated at a frequency of 40% when vinblastine is administered at a total dose of 0.36 mg/kg with bleomycin and CDDP. In our group of patients, the nephrotoxicity of CDDP appeared to be cumulative despite intensive diuresis at the time of administration. Pulmonary toxicity was not observed. Modest reductions in vinblastine dose, especially in patients with poor performance status or a history of previous radiation or other chemotherapy, will substantially lower the frequency of serious toxicity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

The L1210 assay for immune complexes: application in cancer patients and correlation with disease progress.

Immune complexes (ICs) were determined by the non-complement-dependent L1210 radioimmune assay on 132 serum samples collected from 53 patients with a variety of cancers. Both the mean IC levels and frequency of positive tests were significantly greater in cancer patients (mean = 96 +/- 100 microgram/ml, 46% positive) than in a control group of 67 normal healthy blood donors (mean = 39 +/- 15, 3% positive). When cancer patients were assorted into groups by disease progress, those with large or progressing tumors had significantly higher mean values (136 +/- 129) and frequency of positives (75%) than those with small or regressing tumors (58 +/- 18, 22% positive). In lung cancer patients, IC levels showed a strong inverse correlation (rs = -0.903) with survival time in patients who died, and appeared to be a better prognostic indicator than performance status (Karnofsky scale) at time of diagnosis. Serial IC measurements taken on several patients showed a decrease in levels concomitant with a favorable response to cytoreductive therapy, sustained normal levels during periods of prolonged remission, and a rise to elevated levels with (and sometimes preceding) documentation of new metastases.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

[Moxibustion combined with Jianpi Wenshen formula for cancer-related anorexia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion combined with Jianpi Wenshen formula in treating cancer-related anorexia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency. METHODS: A total of 80 patients with cancer-related anorexia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 40 cases in each group.Jianpi Wenshen formula was given orally in the control group. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, moxibustion was applied at bilateral Zusanli (ST36), Neiguan (PC6) and Zhongwan (CV12), Guanyuan (CV4), Mingmen (GV4) in the observation group, once daily for the first 15 days, then once every other day. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The scores of appetite, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS-2002), and patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA), as well as the serum levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and C-reactive protein (CRP)were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the scores of appetite, NRS-2002, PG-SGA, and the serum levels of IFN-γ and CRP were decreased compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.001, P<0.05, P<0.01), and the above indexes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.001); the KPS scores were increased in the two groups compared with those before treatment (P<0.001, P<0.05), and the KPS score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.001). The marked response rate was 57.5% (23/40) in the observation group, which was higher than 30.0% (12/40) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion combined with Jianpi Wenshen formula can effectively improve appetite and overall status, and reduce the levels of IFN-γ and CRP in patients with cancer-related anorexia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency.

Humans↗

PubMed1978

Evaluation of BCNU and/or radiotherapy in the treatment of anaplastic gliomas. A cooperative clinical trial.

A controlled, prospective, randomized study evaluated the use of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) and/or radiotherapy in the treatment of patients who were operated on and had histological confirmation of anaplastic glioma. A total of 303 patients were randomized into this study, of whom 222 (73%) were within the Valid Study Group (VSG), having met the protocol criteria of neuropathology, corticosteroid control, and therapeutic approach. Patients were divided into four random groups, and received BCNU (80 mg/sq m/day on 3 successive days every 6 to 8 weeks), and/or radiotherapy (5000 to 6000 rads to the whole brain through bilateral opposing ports), or best conventional care but no chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Analysis was performed on all patients who received any amount of therapy (VSG) and on the Adequately Treated Group (ATG), who had received 5000 or more rads radiotherapy, two or more courses of chemotherapy, and had a minimum survival of 8 or more weeks (the interval that would have been required to have received either the radiotherapy or chemotherapy). Median survival of patients in the VSG was, best conventional care: 14 weeks (ATG: 17.0 weeks); BCNU: 18.5 weeks (ATG: 25.0 weeks); radiotherapy: 35 weeks (ATG: 37.5 weeks); and BCNU plus radiotherapy: 34.5 weeks (ATG: 40.5 weeks). All therapeutic modalities showed some statistical superiority compared to best conventional care. There was no significant difference between the four groups in relation to age distribution, sex, location of tumor, diagnosis, tumor characteristics, signs or symptoms, or the amount of corticosteroid used. An analysis of prognostic factors indicates that the initial performance status (Karnofsky rating), age, the use of only a surgical biopsy, parietal location, the presence of seizures, or the involvement of cranial nerves II, III, IV, and VI are all of significance. Toxicity included acceptable, reversible thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1978

Combined therapy for small cell undifferentiated carcinoma of the lung.

Fifty-eight patients with small cell lung cancer were treated from September, 1974, to March, 1976, with combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Surgical resection of the lung lesion was performed in three patients, and a number of surgical diagnostic methods were carried out in the remaining patients with unresectable of disseminated lesions. Nineteen patients were from the Veterans Administration Hospital and 39 from Indiana University Medical Center. The median Karnofsky performance status was 60. Thirty-nine patients had extensive disease, and 19 had disease limited to the chest and supraclavicular area. All patients received chest radiotherapy and prophylactic whole brain radiation. Adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, and vincristine were given on day 1 and continued every 3 weeks. There were 27 (48 percent) partial remissions of a median duration of 26 weeks. There were 25 patients (43 percent) with complete remission. The median survival for the entire group was 51 weeks. Six of 58 patients (10 percent) are alive and disease free from 24 to 38 months after treatment. Six of 19 patients with limited disease (32 percent) are presently alive and disease free. This includes one patient in whom surgical resection was performed. Combined therapy influences favorably the prognosis of small cell cancer of the ling, expecially in those patients with limited disease and favorable performance status.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Scientific problems in clinical scales, as demonstrated in the Karnofsky index of performance status.

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Disability Evaluation↗

PubMed1979

Combination of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide in the treatment of metastatic prostatic carcinoma: a phase II study.

A prospective trial of Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide was undertaken in the treatment of patients with hormonally refractory prostatic carcinoma. Of the 20 patients evaluable, three (15%) had a partial remission and five (25%) had stable disease for a total response of 40%. All patients who responded had subjective improvement consisting of weight gain (greater than or equal to 10% of body weight), improvement of performance status (greater than or equal 10% in Karnofsky index), and a decreased need for pain medication.

Aged↗