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Graded Prognostic Assessment for Gastrointestinal Cancer (GI-GPA)

Estimates survival in patients with brain metastases from a gastrointestinal cancer.

Graded Prognostic Assessment for Gastrointestinal Cancer (GI-GPA)
Age
Karnofsky Performance Status
Extracranial metastases
Number of brain metastases
Result0.0 points (of 4)

Median survival in the corresponding prognostic stratum ≈ ≈ 3 months.

Median survival (GI-GPA cohort)
≈ 3 months

When to use

  • Estimating survival and informing treatment intensity in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastases from a gastrointestinal primary cancer.

Formula

GI-GPA (0-4) = points for age (<60=0.5, ≥60=0) + KPS (<80=0, 80-90=1, 90-100=2) + absence of extracranial metastases (absent=0.5, present=0) + number of brain metastases (1=1, 2-3=0.5, >3=0).

Pearls and pitfalls

  • Part of the diagnosis-specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) family; use the disease-specific version (here, GI-GPA) rather than the original generic GPA for GI primaries.
  • Intended to inform, not replace, multidisciplinary discussion of surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, whole-brain radiotherapy, and systemic therapy.

References

  1. Sperduto PW, Fang P, Li J, et al. Estimating survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers and brain metastases: an update of the graded prognostic assessment for gastrointestinal cancers (GI-GPA). Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 2019;18:39-45.