Oncology and Cancer Care Calculators

ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status grades a patient's functional capacity on a 0–5 scale: 0 = fully active, no restrictions; 1 = restricted in strenuous activity, ambulatory and able to perform light work; 2 = ambulatory (>50% of waking hours), capable of self-care; 3 = limited self-care, confined to bed or chair >50% of waking hours; 4 = completely disabled, no self-care; 5 = dead. ECOG 0–1 patients generally tolerate standard chemotherapy; ECOG ≥3 typically excludes patients from curative intent trials.

The Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) uses a 0–100 scale in 10-point increments, where 100 = normal function and 0 = dead. KPS ≥80 corresponds to ECOG 0–1 (capable of normal activity); KPS 50–70 ≈ ECOG 2–3; KPS <50 ≈ ECOG 4. KPS is more granular, making it useful for tracking subtle functional decline in palliative care. ECOG is simpler and more widely used in clinical trial eligibility criteria and routine oncology practice.

BSA-based dosing normalizes chemotherapy to body size, reducing inter-patient variability in drug exposure and toxicity. Most cytotoxic agents (e.g., carboplatin, doxorubicin, paclitaxel) are dosed in mg/m². The Mosteller formula (BSA = √[height(cm) × weight(kg) / 3600]) is most widely used for its simplicity. However, BSA dosing has limitations — it does not account for organ function, drug metabolism variation, or obesity-related pharmacokinetics. Many protocols cap BSA at 2.0–2.2 m² to limit toxicity in obese patients.

The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) assigns weighted scores to 17 comorbid conditions to predict 10-year mortality. In oncology, it is used to assess fitness for surgery, systemic therapy, and clinical trial eligibility, and to contextualize survival outcomes. CCI 0 = low comorbidity burden; 1–2 = mild; 3–4 = moderate; ≥5 = severe. A CCI ≥3 is often used as a threshold in geriatric oncology assessments. Age-adjusted CCI adds 1 point per decade over 50.

The Deauville score uses PET-CT to evaluate treatment response in lymphoma, comparing residual uptake to reference structures: 1 = no uptake; 2 = uptake ≤ mediastinum; 3 = uptake > mediastinum but ≤ liver; 4 = uptake moderately > liver; 5 = markedly increased uptake or new lesions. In Hodgkin lymphoma, score 1–3 = complete metabolic response (Deauville-negative); 4–5 = residual disease. Response-adapted therapy (e.g., escalating to BEACOPP or adding radiotherapy) is guided by interim PET Deauville score.

Renal function must be assessed before initiating nephrotoxic or renally-cleared chemotherapy. Carboplatin dose is calculated using the Calvert formula (dose = AUC × [GFR + 25]), requiring accurate GFR. Cisplatin is contraindicated with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m². Methotrexate and pemetrexed require eGFR ≥45–60 depending on dose. Capecitabine dose is reduced by 25–50% for eGFR 30–50. Use Cockcroft-Gault (CrCl) rather than CKD-EPI for drug dosing decisions, as most oncology trials use this formula.