TABLE 1.
Patient characteristics at study enrollment
| Characteristics | n = 1896 | |
| Age, mean ± SD (years old) | 72.4 ± 12.3 | |
| Male | 965 | (51%) |
| Primary tumor site | ||
| Gastrointestinal tract | 527 | (28%) |
| Hepatobiliary tracts and pancreas | 363 | (19%) |
| Lung | 319 | (17%) |
| Genitourinary system | 141 | (7%) |
| Breast | 131 | (7%) |
| Gynecologic organs | 119 | (6%) |
| Head and neck | 106 | (6%) |
| Blood and lymph nodes | 56 | (3%) |
| Others | 134 | (7%) |
| Metastatic site | ||
| Liver | 730 | (39%) |
| Lung | 708 | (37%) |
| Bone | 501 | (26%) |
| Brain | 263 | (14%) |
| Comorbidity | ||
| Cardiovascular disease | 110 | (6%) |
| Chronic lung disease | 118 | (6%) |
| ECOG PS | ||
| 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 | 3/23/158/797/915 | (0.2 / 1 / 8 / 42 / 48%) |
| KPS, median (range) | 40 (10–90) | |
| ≥50, 30–40, 10–20 | 572 / 978 / 345 | (30 / 52 / 18%) |
| PPS, median (range) | 40 (10–90) | |
| ≥60, 30–50, 10–20 | 184 / 1363 / 349 | (10 / 72 / 18%) |
| Palliative care phase | ||
| Stable/ Unstable/ Deteriorating/ Terminal | 177 / 579 / 921 / 217 | (9 / 31 / 49 / 11%) |
| Symptoms | ||
| Pain (IPOS ≥2) | 664 | (35%) |
| Dyspnea (IPOS ≥2) | 380 | (20%) |
| Fatigue (IPOS ≥2) | 787 | (42%) |
| Anorexia (IPOS ≥2) | 865 | (49%) |
| Gastrointestinal obstruction | 257 | (14%) |
| Malignant skin lesion a | 156 | (8%) |
| Delirium | 583 | (31%) |
| Fluid retention | 1219 | (64%) |
| Observation period in days, average, median (range) | 27, 17 (1–180) | |
Abbreviations: ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance status; IPOS, Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale; KPS, Karnofsky Performance Status; PPS, Palliative Performance Status; SD, standard deviation.
a
Malignant skin lesion: primary skin cancer (n = 11), metastatic skin lesion or direct invasion to skin (n = 145).