Functional status of cancer / chronic-illness patients. Free to use.
Karnofsky PS (Karnofsky Performance Status) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess functional status of cancer / chronic-illness patients. The instrument contains 1 item.
Source / attribution: Karnofsky DA, Burchenal JH. In: MacLeod CM (ed). Evaluation of Chemotherapeutic Agents. New York: Columbia Univ Press, 1949: 191-205.
The instrument's primary construct — functional status of cancer / chronic-illness patients — is operationalized through a fixed set of items, each with a defined response format. This standardisation is what allows Karnofsky PS scores to be compared meaningfully across clinicians, sites, and studies.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, Karnofsky PS is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 1 item below to see your Karnofsky PS score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 11-point scale (100–0). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Karnofsky PS uses simple summation: each item's selected response is converted to a numeric value, and the values are added to produce a total score. Reverse-scored items are inverted before summation.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–40 | Unable to care for self | KPS ≤ 40 — needs equivalent of institutional or hospital care. |
| 50–70 | Unable to work; lives at home | KPS 50–70 — needs varying levels of assistance. |
| 80–100 | Able to carry on normal activity | KPS 80–100 — can usually tolerate active treatment. |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karnofsky score | 60 — Requires occasional assistance; cares for most personal needs. | 60 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
60 = 60
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 60 falls between 50 and 70 → Unable to work; lives at home
Unable to work; lives at home. KPS 50–70 — needs varying levels of assistance.
A score is one input alongside history and examination. Karnofsky PS supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
If Karnofsky PS doesn't fit your context, related instruments in oncology include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECOG PS | Functional status of cancer patients | 1 | — |
| PHQ-9 | Severity of depression | 9 | ≈ 3 minutes |
| GAD-7 | Severity of generalized anxiety | 7 | ≈ 2 minutes |
| AUDIT | 10-item WHO screening tool for hazardous alcohol consumption and dependence. | 10 | ≈ 3 min |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
| Glasgow Coma Scale | Level of consciousness after head injury | 3 | — |
| MELD-Na | 3-month mortality in advanced liver disease; transplant prioritization | 5 | — |
Karnofsky PS (Karnofsky Performance Status) is a validated instrument that assesses functional status of cancer / chronic-illness patients. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. The 1 items are summed to produce a total score.
Karnofsky PS contains 1 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 100, grouped into 3 interpretation bands from ‘Unable to care for self’ up to ‘Able to carry on normal activity’.
On the Karnofsky PS (total score 0–100), scores of 80–100 fall in the ‘Able to carry on normal activity’ band — interpreted as: KPS 80–100 — can usually tolerate active treatment. The full ladder is: 0–40 — Unable to care for self: KPS ≤ 40 — needs equivalent of institutional or hospital care.; 50–70 — Unable to work; lives at home: KPS 50–70 — needs varying levels of assistance.; 80–100 — Able to carry on normal activity: KPS 80–100 — can usually tolerate active treatment. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 0–40 fall in the ‘Unable to care for self’ band: KPS ≤ 40 — needs equivalent of institutional or hospital care. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
Yes — Karnofsky PS is in the public domain and free for clinical, educational, and research use without permission. You can use this calculator and the scale itself freely; if you publish results or reproduce the scale, cite the original source paper.
Karnofsky DA, Burchenal JH. The clinical evaluation of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer. In: MacLeod CM (ed). Evaluation of Chemotherapeutic Agents. New York: Columbia University Press; 1949: 191-205. This is the original publication for the Karnofsky PS — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. Karnofsky PS is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of functional status of cancer / chronic-illness patients — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
Karnofsky PS is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: