ECOG performance status

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 31 Aug 2021

The ECOG performance status is a scale used to assess how a patient's disease is progressing, assess how the disease affects the daily living abilities of the patient, and determine appropriate treatment and prognosis (it is one of the three components that form the BCLC HCC staging).

  • grade 0: fully active, able to carry on all pre-disease performance without restriction
  • grade 1: restricted in physically strenuous activity but ambulatory and able to carry out work of a light or sedentary nature, e.g. light housework, office work
  • grade 2: ambulatory and capable of all self-care but unable to carry out any work activities, up and about more than 50% of waking hours
  • grade 3: capable of only limited self-care, confined to bed or chair more than 50% of waking hours
  • grade 4: completely disabled, cannot carry on any self-care, totally confined to bed or chair
  • grade 5: dead

History and etymology

The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) is one of the largest clinical cancer research organizations in the United States and conducts clinical trials in all types of adult cancers. The performance status arose from an article they published in 1982 1. The ECOG performance status is in the public domain, therefore freely available for public use. To duplicate the scale, please cite the reference below and credit the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

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