ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prognostic factors for non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)in patients under 40 years of age.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinicopathological data of 148 young patients with NSCLC were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between prognostic factors and survival time.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patients were followed-up for 6 - 148 months, and the follow-up rate was 100%. In the whole group, 122 patients died and 26 cases were surviving. The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 54.7%, 10.4% and 5.6%, respectively. The median survival time (MST) was 14.7 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that Karnofsky performance status (KPS), clinical stage, treatment modality and serum CEA were related with prognosis (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that KPS, clinical stage, treatment modality and serum CEA were independent prognostic factors (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>KPS, CEA, clinical stage and treatment modalities are independent prognostic factors in young NSCLC patients.</p>