Clinical calculator summary
Original 2003 Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS)
Clinical calculator summary
Original 2003 Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS)
A three-level inflammation-based prognostic grouping that independently scores elevated CRP and low albumin.
Evidence-based context for fast calculator use
- Purpose:
- Reproduce the original 2003 GPS additive rule using unrounded canonical laboratory values.
- Population:
- Originally evaluated in people with inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer.
- Factors:
- CRP in mg/L, Albumin in g/L from the same blood draw
- Reference:
- Forrest et al. Br J Cancer. 2003. PMID 12966420.
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Glasgow Prognostic Score (Original GPS)
mg/L
g/L
Clinical Context & Background
This page implements the original Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) described by Forrest and colleagues in people with inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer. It does not implement modified GPS (mGPS), high-sensitivity mGPS, optimized GPS, or the CRP/albumin ratio.
Use CRP and albumin from the same blood draw. Enter canonical units only: CRP in mg/L and albumin in g/L. The calculator compares unrounded values with the source thresholds. It adds one point for CRP above 10 mg/L and one point for albumin below 35 g/L. Equality is non-adverse. Unlike mGPS, isolated hypoalbuminaemia scores one point even when CRP is 10 mg/L or lower.
GPS is a historical prognostic grouping marker, not an individual survival probability or treatment mandate. Applicability outside the original inoperable NSCLC setting varies by cancer, stage, treatment, and measurement timing. Acute infection or inflammation, liver failure, protein loss, and major fluid shifts may affect CRP or albumin independently of cancer.
Primary reference: Forrest LM, McMillan DC, McArdle CS, Angerson WJ, Dunlop DJ. Br J Cancer. 2003;89:1028-1030. PMID: 12966420.
Formula Logic
Original GPS = 1 point when CRP > 10 mg/L + 1 point when albumin < 35 g/L; total 0-2.Reference Data
| Score | Exact criteria | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | CRP <= 10 mg/L AND albumin >= 35 g/L | Lower systemic-inflammation prognostic group |
| 1 | Either CRP > 10 mg/L OR albumin < 35 g/L | Intermediate systemic-inflammation prognostic group |
| 2 | CRP > 10 mg/L AND albumin < 35 g/L | Higher systemic-inflammation prognostic group |
Clinical Workflow
Use, Interpret, And Continue The Patient Pathway
Expand for workflow guidance, limitations, examples, and related next steps.
Clinical Workflow
Use, Interpret, And Continue The Patient Pathway
Expand for workflow guidance, limitations, examples, and related next steps.
When To Use
- Use CRP and albumin from the same blood draw and document whether sampling was pretreatment, on treatment, or during palliative assessment.
- Enter CRP in mg/L and albumin in g/L. This form accepts canonical units only and never infers units from magnitude.
How To Interpret
- Scores 0, 1, and 2 represent lower, intermediate, and higher systemic-inflammation prognostic groups.
- The score is not a calibrated individual survival probability and does not independently determine treatment.
What To Do Next
- Record the raw values, units, measurement timing, GPS version, and clinical factors that may alter inflammatory markers.
- Use disease-specific staging, performance status, current guidance, and clinician judgment alongside GPS.
Limitations
- The source cohort had inoperable NSCLC; applicability to other cancers, stages, and measurement times requires context-specific evidence.
- Treatment effects, acute infection or inflammation, liver failure, protein-losing states, and major fluid shifts can alter CRP or albumin independently of cancer.
- No universal source-backed upper input limits are imposed. Confirm unusual values and units before interpretation.
Validated Population
People with inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer in the original 2003 study.
Original GPS differs from mGPS
CRP 10 mg/L and albumin 30 g/L gives original GPS 1, while conventional mGPS gives 0.
Calculation verification history
Verified
Calculation verification history
Verified: Production browser revalidation
- Five source-backed original GPS cases were exercised on the public production route through visible controls; 5/5 expected scores and interpretations matched across equality and both threshold transitions.
- No unexpected N/A, literal undefined value, stale control, or browser-console error was observed.
Case-level evidence is retained in validation/browser-revalidation/Glasgow-Prognostic-Score-2026-08-03.json.
: Production browser validation
- Ten source-backed cases were exercised on the public production route through visible browser controls; 10/10 case records passed their expected-versus-observed assertions across 11 visible submissions.
- Overall browser status: failed-console. medium: Production emitted minified React error #418 during route loads/reloads used by this run.
- Case-level inputs, expected and observed results, reset/repeat behavior, failure reproductions, and console evidence are retained in the production-browser evidence record.
Case-level production evidence is retained in validation/browser-production/Glasgow-Prognostic-Score.json.
: Full validation test
- 119/119 original-GPS checks passed across exact thresholds, malformed inputs, unrounded precision, trace, row mapping, immutability, public wiring, and GPS-versus-mGPS differential behavior.
- The verified conventional mGPS audit remained unchanged at 111/111.
: Correction history
- Locked the original 2003 GPS rule and exact equality semantics without substituting mGPS or another inflammation score.
- Added strict canonical-unit inputs, neutral invalid handling, independent CRP and albumin predicate traces, and the isolated-hypoalbuminaemia distinction.
- Replaced broad survival and treatment claims with source-specific historical prognostic language and corrected the glossary link to the permanent route.
Verification confirms the calculator implementation against the cited model; it is not independent clinical validation, regulatory approval, or medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does low albumin increase original GPS when CRP is normal?
Yes. Albumin below 35 g/L adds one point independently, even when CRP is 10 mg/L or lower.
Is this the modified GPS?
No. Conventional mGPS ignores albumin when CRP is 10 mg/L or lower; this page implements the original GPS.
Is GPS a survival prediction or treatment rule?
No. It is a historical prognostic grouping marker that must be interpreted with the cancer, stage, treatment setting, timing, and clinical context.
Evidence-based oncology decision support. Verify with clinical guidelines.