Performance Status Assessment by Using ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) Score for Cancer Patients by Oncology Healthcare Professionals

Faisal Azam; Muhammad Farooq Latif; Ayesha Farooq; Syed Hammad Tirmazy; Saad AlShahrani; Shahid Bashir; Nedal Bukhari

doi:10.1159/000503095

Performance Status Assessment by Using ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) Score for Cancer Patients by Oncology Healthcare Professionals

Case Rep Oncol. 2019 Sep 25;12(3):728-736. doi: 10.1159/000503095. eCollection 2019 Sep-Dec.

Authors

Faisal Azam¹, Muhammad Farooq Latif², Ayesha Farooq³, Syed Hammad Tirmazy², Saad AlShahrani¹, Shahid Bashir¹, Nedal Bukhari^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Oncology, King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
² Dubai Hospital, Al Khaleej road, Al Baraha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
³ Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Medical literature does not have clear consensus on inter-rater reliability of PS assessment by different oncology health care professionals (HCPs) although it plays an important role in treatment decision and prognosis for oncology patients. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores are commonly used for this purpose by oncology HCPs around the world. This study was conducted to find variability or similarities in assessment of PS among the different oncology HCPs. A survey based on four hypothetical clinical scenarios was devised and sent to 50 oncology HCPs to assess the PS using ECOG PS tool. No significant variations in PS assessment by oncology HCPs was noted in our study sample.

Keywords: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG); Karnofsky performance status (KPS); Performance status.

Publication types

Case Reports