Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status

The ECOG Performance Status may be slightly better than Karnofsky for discriminating prognostically and, as an adaptation of Karnofsky, is likely to be at least similar in other domains. It is also simpler to use, and therefore may be preferred.

We are unaware of validated management algorithms using the ECOG Performance Status.

The ECOG Performance Status and other performance scales should be used in the holistic assessment of cancer patients, though their accuracy as prognostic tools in individual cases is not yet proved.