CALGB index

The CALGB index was developed retrospectively using the clinical characteristics of 337 patients treated in clinical trials of chemotherapy for advanced mesothelioma during a 10-year period.[3][Level of evidence C1] These characteristics were used collectively to define six prognostic groups with median survivals ranging from 13.9 months (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] PS = 0, age <49 years; or PS = 0, age ≥49 years and hemoglobin ≥14.6 g/dL) to 1.4 months (PS = 1 or 2 and white blood cell [WBC] count ≥15.6 × 109/L).

The prognostic value of the CALGB index was evaluated retrospectively in a phase II clinical trial of 105 patients.[4][Level of evidence C1] Median survival in this study for patients in the best CALGB prognostic group was 29.9 months, compared with 1.8 months for patients in the worst prognostic group. However, the intermediate groups 2 to 4 overlapped in their survival times.