Table 1.
Patient characteristics comparison between the palliative intent group and curative intent group (N = 500).
| Variable | Curative intent group (n = 179) a | Palliative intent group (n = 321)b | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | |||
| Mean (range) | 73.0 (65–89) | 73.2 (65–91) | 0.82 |
| SD | 6.1 | 6.3 | |
| No. (%) | No. (%) | ||
| Race | |||
| White | 144 (80.4) | 282 (87.9) | 0.05 |
| Black | 23 (12.9) | 19 (5.9) | |
| Asian | 9 (5.0) | 17 (5.3) | |
| Other | 3 (1.7) | 3 (0.9) | |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 64 (35.8) | 155 (48.3) | 0.007 |
| Female | 115 (64.2) | 166 (51.7) | |
| BMI | |||
| <25 | 88 (49) | 165 (51.7) | 0.58 |
| ≥25 | 91 (51) | 154 (48.3) | |
| Missing | 2 | ||
| Cancer type | |||
| Breast | 39 (21.8) | 18 (5.6) | <0.001 |
| Lung | 31 (17.3) | 112 (34.9) | |
| GI | 54 (30.2) | 81 (25.2) | |
| GYN | 38 (21.2) | 49 (15.3) | |
| GU | 11 (6.2) | 39 (12.2) | |
| Other | 6 (3.3) | 22 (6.8) | |
| Education | |||
| Less than high school | 6 (3.4) | 12 (3.8) | 0.86 |
| High school graduate | 60 (33.5) | 115 (35.9) | |
| Associate/bachelor’s degree | 77 (43.0) | 125 (39.0) | |
| Advanced degree Missing | 36 (20.1) | 68 (21.3) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 109 (60.9) | 197 (61.4) | 0.70 |
| Widowed | 43 (24.0) | 70 (21.8) | |
| Single | 7 (3.9) | 9 (2.8) | |
| Separated, divorced | 20 (11.2) | 45 (14.0) | |
| Employment status | |||
| Full or part time | 25 (14.0) | 58 (18.1) | 0.46 |
| Retired, homemaker, unemployed | 147 (82.1) | 248 (77.5) | |
| Disabled, medical leave | 7 (3.9) | 14 (4.4) | |
| Missing | 1 | ||
| Standard dose | |||
| Yes | 153 (85.5) | 240 (74.8) | 0.005 |
| No | 26 (14.5) | 81 (25.2) | |
| First line of chemotherapy | |||
| Yes | 165 (92.2) | 190 (59.2) | <0.001 |
| No | 14 (7.8) | 131 (40.8) | |
| No. of chemotherapy drugs | |||
| Mono-chemotherapy | 28 (15.6) | 121 (37.7) | <0.001 |
| Poly-chemotherapy | 151 (84.4) | 200 (62.3) | |
| Duration, days | |||
| Mean (range) | 92.8 (1–491) | 94.0 (1–598) | 0.854 |
| SD | 65.0 | 81.0 | |
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; GI, gastrointestinal; GYN, gynecologic; GU, genitourinary.
a
Includes stages I–III disease, except IIIb lung cancer
b
Includes stage IV disease and stage IIIb lung cancer.