Prognostic Factors

Prognosis is the medical term for outcome. We can estimate how a cancer of a particular size and type is likely to behave. The most significant factors are the size, grade, and nodal status.

There are various formulas available that combine these factors to provide an estimate of survival rates.

One that is used frequently is called the Nottingham Prognostic index.

NPI = 0.2 x tumour size(cm) + grade + nodal status

The lower the total score the better the outcome is likely to be.

A newer tool available for oncologists to use on the web is called Adjuvant Online.

This programme produces diagrams showing  the number of patients predicted to be alive and well without any extra treatment and then shows how many more can be expected to be alive with additional treatment.

This way of presenting benefits of treatment is easier to understand than having to digest pages of numbers and statistics.

Survival curves are most useful in providing a "ball-park figure" or estimate of risk when trying to predict benefits of adjuvant treatment.