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Clinical Importance of Prognostic Factors

Moving from Scientifically Interesting to Clinically Useful

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Principles of Molecular Oncology

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Abstract

The term “prognostic factor,” when used to describe patients with malignancies, has taken on several meanings. In general, a prognostic factor is considered to be useful because its results serve to separate a large heterogeneous population into smaller populations with more concisely predictable outcomes. In theory, if this separation is both reliable and disparate, one can apply therapy more efficiently to the population by exposing those most likely to need and benefit from the therapy while ensuring that the other group avoids needless toxicities.

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Authors
  1. Daniel F. Hayes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital General of Granollers, Barcelona, Spain

    Miguel H. Bronchud MD, PhD

  2. Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

    Mary Ann Foote PhD  & Murray O. Robinson MD, PhD  & 

  3. Barbara Ann Karmonos Cancer Institute, The Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    William P. Peters PhD

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Hayes, D.F. (2000). Clinical Importance of Prognostic Factors. In: Bronchud, M.H., Foote, M.A., Peters, W.P., Robinson, M.O. (eds) Principles of Molecular Oncology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-222-7_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-222-7_2

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-6274-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-222-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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