Follow-Up Study of Survival of Patients with Advanced Cancer in a Hospice Setting

Objective: This study was to present the survival of advanced cancer patients and explore the influence ofvarious factors on survival time as well as survival rate. The results provide guidelines for clinical practice ofcancer treatment.
Methods: Follow-up of 674 advanced cancer patients was performed in a hospice. The mediansurvival time and survival rate were calculated, and survival analysis was carried out.
Results: The mediansurvival time of all patients dying from cancer was 12.0 months and the average survival time was 25.1 months.The 1-year cumulative survival rate was 0.518±0.020 and the 5-year cumulative survival rate was 0.088±0.012.The following factors showed significant impacts on survival rate: gender, age, primary diagnosis, surgery andthe time when pain appeared.
Conclusions: The survival time of patients with advanced cancer was relativelyshort. Major approaches to extend the survival time include early detection, early diagnosis, effective surgicaltreatment, pain control, reasonable supply of nutrients and multiple interventions.