Value of the Palliative Performance Scale in the prognostication of advanced cancer patients in a tertiary care setting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the Palliative Performance Scale (PPSv2) in the palliative care unit of our hospital, which sees more than 1500 referrals a year (both inpatient and outpatient). We evaluated 356 admission episodes into our department, focusing mainly on patients with advanced cancer. The PPS has been shown to be useful in prognostication and this study confirms this in a fairly large study population in a tertiary care, teaching hospital. We further evaluated the impact of certain biologic variables in survival length, and eventually looked at variables significant for survival at 90 days, developing a prognostic model incorporating these variables. We believe that the study results will aid health care professionals in assessing survival length of their patients more accurately, thus helping to guide decisions for treatment and care in a more judicious manner. It will also allow us to choose patients most likely to benefit from hospice resources.