BACKGROUND/AIM
Patients with metastases from pancreas cancer benefit from individualized care, including radiotherapy for symptom control. To administer the optimal radiation therapy, it is important to understand a patient's prognosis.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Seven variables were analyzed regarding their relationship with survival: age, gender, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), number of metastatic sites, interval from diagnosis of pancreatic cancer to irradiation of metastases, type of irradiated metastasis, and radiation dose.
RESULTS
On univariate analysis, survival was positively associated with age ≤ 67 years (p=0.045), KPS >70 (p<0.001), and involvement of only one metastatic site (p=0.013). A longer interval between diagnosis and irradiation of metastases showed a trend for better survival (p=0.077). On multivariate analysis, age [risk ratio (RR)=4.29; p=0.004], KPS (RR=1.95; p=0.020), number of metastatic sites (RR=2.20; p=0.009) and interval to irradiation (RR=4.41; p=0.005) achieved significance.
CONCLUSION
The present study identified four independent predictors of survival in patients with pancreatic cancer irradiated for metastasis and thus contributes to treatment optimization.