Table 2.
Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the association between patient characteristics and overall survival
| Explanatory factors (TAS cohort, N = 391) | N | Death | HR | 95% CI | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Univariate | ||||||
| Age at study inclusion* | ≤ 65 years | 241 | 153 | 1 | – | |
| > 65–75 years | 107 | 60 | 0.68 | 0.50–0.92 | 0.0126 | |
| > 75 years | 43 | 28 | 0.94 | 0.62–1.38 | 0.7636 | |
| Sex* | Male | 320 | 203 | 1 | – | |
| Female | 71 | 38 | 0.66 | 0.46–0.92 | 0.0193 | |
| Weight | Per 5 kg | 391 | 241 | 1.02 | 0.98–1.07 | 0.3531 |
| Alcohol consumption | Never | 87 | 61 | 1 | – | |
| Several times per month | 85 | 51 | 0.9 | 0.62–1.30 | 0.5689 | |
| Several times per week or daily | 101 | 60 | 0.82 | 0.57–1.17 | 0.2731 | |
| Missing | 118 | 69 | 0.74 | 0.52–1.04 | 0.0836 | |
| Smoking habits | Never smoked | 102 | 60 | 1 | – | |
| Former smoker | 148 | 94 | 1.16 | 0.84–1.61 | 0.3666 | |
| Current smoker | 140 | 86 | 1.01 | 0.73–1.41 | 0.9393 | |
| Charlson comorbidity index at study inclusion* | 0 | 188 | 110 | 1 | – | |
| 1 | 79 | 57 | 1.37 | 0.99–1.87 | 0.0559 | |
| > 1 | 124 | 74 | 1.19 | 0.88–1.59 | 0.2545 | |
| Chemotherapy/Radiotherapy | Radiotherapy only | 78 | 43 | 1 | – | |
| Chemotherapy only | 309 | 195 | 1.17 | 0.85–1.64 | 0.3616 | |
| Radio-chemotherapy | 4 | 3 | 1.82 | 0.44–5.00 | 0.3187 | |
| Duration since initial diagnosis | Per month | 391 | 241 | 1 | 1.00–1.00 | 0.515 |
| ECOG performance status at treatment initiation* | 0 | 65 | 31 | 1 | – | |
| 1 | 225 | 145 | 1.63 | 1.12–2.45 | 0.0133 | |
| ≥ 2 | 77 | 53 | 2.37 | 1.53–3.73 | 0.0001 | |
| Unknown | 24 | 12 | 1.5 | 0.74–2.86 | 0.2309 | |
| Location of primary tumor | Oropharynx | 93 | 56 | 1 | – | |
| Hypopharynx | 74 | 45 | 1.26 | 0.84–1.86 | 0.2546 | |
| Larynx | 42 | 26 | 1.25 | 0.77–1.96 | 0.3539 | |
| Oral cavity | 89 | 59 | 1.18 | 0.82–1.71 | 0.3671 | |
| Other | 63 | 35 | 1.01 | 0.66–1.53 | 0.961 | |
| Multiple locations | 30 | 20 | 1.91 | 1.12–3.14 | 0.0134 | |
| Disease progression at study inclusion | Local recurrence only | 198 | 125 | 1 | – | |
| Distant metastases | 193 | 116 | 0.86 | 0.66–1.10 | 0.2276 | |
| Overall VAS score* | Per 10 points | 276 | 166 | 1.12 | 1.05–1.20 | 0.0009 |
| Multivariatea | ||||||
| Overall VAS score | Per 10 points | 276 | 166 | 1.12 | 1.05–1.20 | 0.0009 |
TAS Target Analysis Set, HR Hazard Ratio, CI Confidence Interval, ECOG Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, VAS Visual Analogue Scale. aFinal Cox regression model after backward selection. Within the selection process, all explanatory factors with an effect p-value of < 0.2 in the univariate Cox regression analysis were considered (*). Only factors with p < 0.05 remained in the final model