Results. In the algorithm, patients with KPS > 90%, 80% without weight loss, 60e80% with weight loss, and less than 60% were identified with median survivals of 411, 255, 124, and 37 days, respectively. Patient distress from weight loss was closely correlated with documented weight loss (r ¼ 0.48, p < 0.0001). In the validation set, median Kaplan Meier survivals were 173, 180, 102, and 50 days, (p < 0.0001). For 620 cancer pts, median survivals were 417, 102, 45 and 14 days, (p < 0.0001), and (blank), 276, 181 and 100 days for 163 non-cancer diagnosis pts (p non-significant).Conclusion. An RPA that incorporates KPS and patient-rated weight loss developed four prognostic groups in palliative care cancer patients. A larger sample is needed in pts with non-cancer diagnoses. Supported by VA HSRD, PDIA, and NJCCR. Implications for research, policy, or practice. This algorithm may be useful for research and practice in stratifying patients for survival.