‘Just give me the best quality of life questionnaire’: the Karnofsky scale and the history of quality of life measurements in cancer trials

Timmermann, Carsten

doi:10.1177/1742395312466903

Cited by 41 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The importance of the KPS as a tool for assessing quality of life is a regularly discussed topic in the relevant literature [15,16]. One important definition of health related quality of life (HRQoL) is that which has been developed by the World Health Organization [17]: “Quality of life is defined as an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Appraisal of the Karnofsky Performance Status and proposal of a simple algorithmic system for its evaluation

Péus

Newcomb

Höfer

2013

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

307

214

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BackgroundFor over 60 years, the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) has proven itself a valuable tool with which to perform measurement of and comparison between the functional statuses of individual patients. In recent decades conditions for patients have changed, and so too has the KPS undergone several adjustments since its initial development.DiscussionThe most important works regarding the KPS tend to focus upon a variety of issues, including but not limited to reliability, validity and health-related quality of life. Also discussed is the question of what quantity the KPS may in fact be said to measure. The KPS is increasingly used as a prognostic factor in patient assessment. Thus, questions regarding if and how it affects survival are relevant.In this paper, we propose an algorithm which uses a minimum of two and a maximum of three questions to facilitate an adequate and efficient evaluation of the KPS.SummaryThis review honors the original intention of the discoverer and gives an overview of adaptations made in recent years. The proposed algorithm suggests specific updates with the goal of ensuring continued adequacy and expediency in the determination of the KPS.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, within this context, it has become evident that adequate and accurate measurements of quality of life historically played only a minor role in controlled studies [16]. Today, quality of life is generally assessed using comprehensive evaluatory questionnaires [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appraisal of the Karnofsky Performance Status and proposal of a simple algorithmic system for its evaluation

Péus

Newcomb

Höfer

2013

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

307

214

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“…The QOL of the patients was evaluated based on physical strength, appetite, amount of sleep and body weight (29). The patients were provided a clinical response questionnaire, on which they recorded feedback regarding the effect of the treatment.…”

Section: Patientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dendritic cell vaccine and cytokine-induced killer cell therapy for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer

et al. 2016

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Abstract. The present study aimed to evaluate the survival time, immune response and safety of a dendritic cell (DC) vaccine and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy (DC-CIK) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present retrospective study enrolled 507 patients with advanced NSCLC; 99 patients received DC-CIK [immunotherapy group (group I)] and 408 matched patients did not receive DC-CIK, and acted as the control [non-immunotherapy group (group NI)]. Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), quality of life (QOL) and safety were analyzed in group I. The follow-up period for the two groups was 489.2±160.4 days. The overall survival (OS) time was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. DTH was observed in 59 out of 97 evaluated patients (60.8%) and 67 out of 98 evaluated patients (68.4%) possessed an improved QOL. Fever and a skin rash occurred in 36 out of 98 patients (36.7%) and 7 out of 98 patients (7.1%) in group I. DTH occurred more frequently in patients with squamous cell carcinoma compared with patients with adenocarcinoma (77.1 vs. 40.4%; P=0.0013). Radiotherapy was not associated with DC-CIK-induced DTH (72.7 vs. 79.6%; P=0.18), but chemotherapy significantly reduced the rate of DTH (18.2 vs. 79.6%; P=0.00). The OS time was significantly increased in group I compared with group NI (P=0.03).In conclusion, DC-CIK may induce an immune response against NSCLC, improve the QOL, and prolong the OS time of patients, without adverse effects. Therefore, the present study recommends DC-CIK for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC. IntroductionLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality and the most common cancer type worldwide (1). In total, ~80% of all lung cancer cases are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (2), for which surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy remain the standard treatments (3). The majority of patients with NSCLC are not recommended for surgery, since patients are often diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease (stage IIIb or IV). Patients that do undergo radical surgery may eventually develop locoregional recurrence or distant metastasis (4). Characterized by inexorable disease progression, advanced NSCLC usually has a high malignant potential. Its prognosis is poor and the clinical onset is extensive, despite treatment with chemotherapy and radiation (5). Systemic chemotherapy is the recommended first-line treatment for patients with advanced stage and metastatic NSCLC, but it is often considered ineffective or excessively toxic (6).Multidisciplinary approaches are required to develop novel treatments for advanced NSCLC (7). One of these multidisciplinary approaches is immunotherapy (7,8), an important and effective method in cancer treatment, particularly for advanced-stage disease (9). Immune cells, including cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells and dendritic cells (DCs), aid in mounting an effective immune response against cancer cells and kill cancer cells, including residual cells (10-13). A combination of conventional methods, such as surgery...

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“…KPS covers 11 stages of functional status from 100 (normal health) to 0 (death). About a decade later, a similar scale, but even simpler, was devised by Dr. Zubrod for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) [2].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of three Memorial Sloan Kettering pioneers: Karnofksy, Holland & Hurria

Tew

2020

Journal of Geriatric Oncology

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‘Just give me the best quality of life questionnaire’: the Karnofsky scale and the history of quality of life measurements in cancer trials

Cited by 41 publications

References 25 publications

Appraisal of the Karnofsky Performance Status and proposal of a simple algorithmic system for its evaluation

Appraisal of the Karnofsky Performance Status and proposal of a simple algorithmic system for its evaluation

Dendritic cell vaccine and cytokine-induced killer cell therapy for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer

An assessment of three Memorial Sloan Kettering pioneers: Karnofksy, Holland & Hurria

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