Survival difference between secondary and de novo acute myeloid leukemia by age, antecedent cancer types, and chemotherapy receipt

BACKGROUND

This study compared the survival of persons with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) to those with de novo AML (dnAML) by age at AML diagnosis, chemotherapy receipt, and cancer type preceding sAML diagnosis.

METHODS

Data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 17 Registries were used, which included 47,704 individuals diagnosed with AML between 2001 and 2018. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare AML-specific survival between sAML and dnAML. Trends in 5-year age-standardized relative survival were examined via the Joinpoint survival model.

RESULTS

Overall, individuals with sAML had an 8% higher risk of dying from AML (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.11) compared to those with dnAML. Disparities widened with younger age at diagnosis, particularly in those who received chemotherapy for AML (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). In persons aged 20-64 years and who received chemotherapy, HRs were greatest for those with antecedent myelodysplastic syndrome (HR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.83-2.28), ovarian cancer (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.19-3.08), head and neck cancer (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02-2.36), leukemia (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.12-1.89), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.20-1.69). Among those aged ≥65 years and who received chemotherapy, HRs were highest for those with antecedent cervical cancer (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.15-5.10) and myelodysplastic syndrome (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.19-1.38). The 5-year relative survival improved 0.3% per year for sAML slower than 0.86% per year for dnAML. Consequently, the survival gap widened from 7.2% (95% CI, 5.4%-9.0%) during the period 2001-2003 to 14.3% (95% CI, 12.8%-15.8%) during the period 2012-2014.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant survival disparities exist between sAML and dnAML on the basis of age at diagnosis, chemotherapy receipt, and antecedent cancer, which highlights opportunities to improve outcomes among those diagnosed with sAML.

Predicting treatment failure in stage III colon cancer patients after radical surgery

Purpose

The aim to assess treatment failure in patients with stage III colon cancer who underwent radical surgery and was analyzed using the nomogram.

Methods

Clinical factors and survival outcomes for stage III colon cancer patients registered in the SEER database from 2018 to 2019 were analyzed, with patients split into training and testing cohorts (7:3 ratio). A total of 360 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Longyan served as an external validation cohort. Independent predictors of treatment failure were identified using logistic regression analyses. The nomograms was evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and the area under the curve (AUC), decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) assessed the clinical utility of nomograms versus TNM staging.

Results

The study included 4,115 patients with stage III colon cancer. Multivariate logistic analysis age, tumor site, pT stage, pN stage, chemotherapy, pretreatment CEA levels, number of harvested lymph nodes, perineural invasion and marital status were identified as independent risk factors for treatment failure. The C-indices for the training and testing sets were 0.853 and 0.841. Validation by ROC and calibration curves confirmed the stability and reliability of the model. DCA showed that the net clinical effect of the histogram was superior to that of the TNM staging system, while CIC highlighted the potentially large clinical impact of the model.

Conclusions

The developed Nomogram provides a powerful and accurate tool for clinicians to assess the risk of treatment failure after radical surgery in patients with stage III colon cancer.

The prognostic value of lymph node dissection in patients with parathyroid carcinoma

Background

Surgery is the only curative treatment strategy for parathyroid carcinoma (PC). However, the optimal extent of surgery remains uncertain, particularly regarding whether routine central lymph node dissection (LND) confers a survival advantage to patients with PC. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of LND in PC patients.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with PC between 2004 and 2018 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-18 registries. With inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 338 patients were included as cohort 1 to describe the characteristics of PC, while 215 patients were selected as cohort 2 to assess the effect of LND on cancer-specific survival (CSS). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify independent risk factors associated with CSS. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to adjust for potential confounding variables. The prognostic value of LND was further analyzed in subgroups stratified by predictors associated with CSS.

Results

The 5- and 10-year CSS were 94.4% and 87.9% respectively in cohort 1. LND failed to significantly improve CSS in the entire cohort 2 and the PSM cohort 2. Large tumor size (>40 mm) and distant metastasis were independently associated with poor CSS. Subgroup analyses revealed that LND was not significantly associated with improved CSS in patients with aggressive PC, such as those with a tumor size greater than 40 mm. Unexpectedly, LND may compromise CSS in patients with distant disease (P=0.03).

Conclusions

PC is a rare and indolent endocrine malignancy. The presence of large tumors and distant metastases are independent predictors of poor CSS. Routine central LND as part of initial surgery does not significantly improve CSS in PC patients, even for those with large tumors, lymph node metastasis, or distant disease.

Survival Outcomes in Thyroid Cancer Patients with Co-Occurring Breast Cancer: Evidence of Mortality Risk Attenuation

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have reported a strong correlation between breast cancer (BC) and thyroid cancer (TC) incidence. However, the clinical and oncological impact of these associations are not yet fully understood. Here, we aimed to explore the differences in clinicopathological characteristics between TC patients with and without BC, and the effect of a history of positive BC on TC survival.

METHODS

We retrospectively compared the clinical characteristics and survival rates of patients with TC alone and those with TC and BC in a primary cohort at our institution and in a second cohort using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

RESULTS

In our institutional cohort, survival rates were similar between patients with TC alone and those with TC-associated BC. However, using SEER data, we found that BC had a protective effect on TC patients and was associated with reduced TC mortality rates (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57 to 0.92; P = .026). After stratifying the TC patients according to co-occurring BC subtypes, we observed that higher survival rates were restricted to patients with coexisting luminal A BC (P = .015), which exhibit positive hormone receptors and do not express HER-2.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that hormone pathways may play a role in the co-occurrence of thyroid and breast cancers. Patients with TC coexisting with luminal A BC have higher survival rates. However, further studies on the mechanisms underlying the association between BC and TC are warranted.

A survival nomogram model for patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer and lymph node metastasis (N1 or N2) based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database and single-center data

Background

The ability to predict survival in patients with lymph node metastasis has long been elusive. After surgery, the basis for decision-making on the combination treatment of patients is not clear. The purpose of this study was thus to build a survival nomogram model to effectively predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and lymph node metastasis. The number of dissected lymph nodes (NDLN), number of positive lymph nodes (NPLN), lymph node ratio (LNR), and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) were included in this study to determine the risk factors in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods

The data of 5,132 patients with NSCLC and lymph node metastasis (N1 or N2) were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and used as the training cohort. We enrolled 117 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine as the external validation cohort. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to determine the best cutoff values for predicting the prognosis of patients with NSCLC. Based on the risk factors affecting prognosis, a nomogram was constructed using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models. The discrimination ability of the nomogram was evaluated with the concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves. For the independent risk factors, survival curves were drawn using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results

ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal NPLN cut-off value was 4, LNR was 0.26, and LODDS was -0.25, respectively. However, LNR was nonsignificant in multivariate analysis, with a P value of 0.274. The novel survival nomogram model included seven independent risk factors, among which were NPLN, LODDS, and chemotherapy. Model 4, which included N stage, NPLN, and LODDS, had a higher likelihood ratio (LR) and C-index than did the other models. The C-index was 0.648 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.636-0.659] in the training cohort and 0.807 (95% CI: 0.751-0.863) in the external validation cohort, showing good prognostic accuracy and discrimination ability. According to the median risk score, the patients in the training cohort and external validation cohort were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, between which significant differences in OS were found. In the training cohort, age, sex, T stage, N stage, NPLN, LODDS, and chemotherapy were significantly associated with OS (P<0.001). In the external validation cohort, T stage, NPLN, LODDS, and chemotherapy were found to be correlated with OS.

Conclusions

The NPLN and LODDS nomogram is an accurate survival prediction tool for patients with N1 or N2 NSCLC. Patients with lymph node metastasis can benefit from chemotherapy, but no evidence shows that radiotherapy is necessary for patients with resectable NSCLC.

The changing landscape of small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by rapid proliferation and early dissemination. The objective of this study was to examine the demographic trends and outcomes in SCLC.

METHODS

The authors queried the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to assess the trends in incidence, demographics, staging, and survival for SCLC from 1975 to 2019. Trends were determined using joinpoint analysis according to the year of diagnosis.

RESULTS

Among the 530,198 patients with lung cancer, there were 73,362 (13.8%) with SCLC. The incidence per 100,000 population peaked at 15.3 in 1986 followed by a decline to 6.5 in 2019. The percentage of SCLC among all lung tumors increased from 13.3% in 1975 to a peak of 17.5% in 1986, declining to 11.1% by 2019. There was an increased median age at diagnosis from 63 to 69 years and an increased percentage of women from 31.4% to 51.2%. The percentage of stage IV increased from 58.6% in 1988 to 70.8% in 2010, without further increase. The most common sites of metastasis at diagnosis were mediastinal lymph nodes (75.3%) liver (31.6%), bone (23.7%), and brain (16.4%). The 1-year and 5-year overall survival rate increased from 23% and 3.6%, respectively, in 1975-1979 to 30.8% and 6.8%, respectively, in 2010-2019.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of SCLC peaked in 1988 followed by a gradual decline. Other notable changes include increased median age at diagnosis, the percentage of women, and the percentage of stage IV at diagnosis. The improvement in 5-year overall survival has been statistically significant but clinically modest.

Clinicopathological, metastatic and prognostic features of stage IV esophageal adenocarcinoma versus squamous cell carcinoma: a SEER database analysis

BACKGROUND

It is important to note that although the current treatment for advanced esophageal cancer (EC) has made great technological advances, patients' 5-year survival rates do not appear to be encouraging. Therefore, understanding the clinicopathological features and metastasis patterns of the patients with stage IV EC, combined with the prognosis of these patients, can aid in choosing the optimal treatment plan. It is well known that esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are the two most common pathological types. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the clinicopathological features and metastatic modes of stage IV ESCC and EAC, as well as their prognosis and survival.

METHODS

Based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we assessed the characteristics of ESCCs and EACs associated with prognosis using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and the Cox regression model. Furthermore, the clinical data of 217 patients with stage IV ESCC and EAC in the Department of Gastroenterology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University between 2014 and 2016 were reviewed.

RESULTS

A total of 3,707 cases treated between 2010 and 2016 were included. The incidence of EAC in the United States is much higher than that of ESCC. Common metastasis patterns were lungs only, liver only, bones only, and lung & liver. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that treatment mode and metastasis patterns were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival (OS) time of patients (stage IV ESCC & EAC). EAC patients with only lung metastases may have a longer survival if chose treatment options that included surgery. In the external cohort, a total of 217 cases were included. The prevalence of ESCC is much higher than that of EAC, and the common metastasis patterns are liver only, lung only, and liver & lung. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that treatment mode was independent risk factor affecting the OS time of patients (stage IV ESCC & EAC). EAC patients treated with surgery combined with chemoradiotherapy may have a better prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, the prognosis of patients with stage IV ESCC and EAC are poor. However, surgery was found to significantly improve the OS time of patients with stage IV EAC in this study.

Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting the overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients with liver metastasis

Background

Among all metastatic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), liver metastasis (LM) is the most lethal site with a median survival of less than 5 months. Few studies exclusively report on prognostic factors for these unique patients. We aimed to construct and validate a practical model to predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients with LM.

Methods

Cases of NSCLC with LM diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and were randomly split into training and validation cohort (7:3). The overall survival (OS) was measured from diagnosis until date of death or last follow-up. Cox regression analyses were performed to identify potential predictors of the model. A nomogram incorporating those independent factors was constructed and validated by the concordance index (C-index) and calibration plots. The decision curve analysis (DCA) and a risk stratification system were used to evaluate its clinical value.

Results

A total of 2,367 cases were selected for analysis and randomized to the training cohort (n=1,677) and the validation cohort (n=690). The patients were mainly male (59.3%), married (83.1%) and White (77.3%). Apart from LM, 54.2%, 26.7%, and 36.7% of patients also present with bone, brain, and lung metastases, respectively. The median follow-up was 4.0 months for all patients and 23 months for alive cases. The median OS was 5 months [interquartile range (IQR), 2-11 months]. Sex, age, race, grade, T stage, bone metastasis, brain metastasis, surgery, and chemotherapy were identified as the independent risk factors of the OS and used to develop the nomogram. The calibration curves exhibited excellent agreement between the predicted and actual survival in both the training and validation set, with a C-index of 0.700 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.684-0.716] and 0.677 (95% CI: 0.653-0.701), respectively. The DCA and the risk classification system further supported that the prediction model was clinically effective.

Conclusions

This is the first study to build a prediction model for NSCLC patients with LM. It aids in treatment decisions, focused care, and physician-patient communication. The global prospective data is needed to further improve this model.

Survival trends and conditional survival in primary non-metastatic esophageal cancer: a SEER population-based study and external validation

Background

The dynamic survival trend of patients with primary non-metastatic esophageal cancer (nMEC) is unknown. We conducted a conditional survival (CS) analysis and developed a novel nomogram to predict it.

Methods

Patients with primary nMEC were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Independent prognostic factors of cancer-specific survival (CSS) were identified. The log-rank test and Cox analysis were used to calculate probabilities of CS. We constructed nomograms to predict survival trends and CS probabilities based on the prognostic factors. Calibration curves and C-indexes were used for internal and external validation.

Results

A total of 9,008 patients were identified from the SEER database and 37 patients were recruited as an external validation cohort. The 1- and 3-year CS rates were 69.6% and 43.1% at diagnosis, rising to 95.2% and 86.2% at the fifth conditional year. CS probabilities by different variables continuously improved over time. The calibration curves of the CS nomograms fit well. The C-indexes were 0.700 (95% CI: 0.693-0.709) in the training cohort, 0.693 (95% CI: 0.669-0.717) in the internal validation cohort, and 0.683 (95% CI: 0.556-0.810) in the external validation cohort.

Conclusions

CS rates are more dynamic than traditional survival rates for patients surviving for a relatively longer period. The CS rates of patients with nMEC improved over time and became stable after surviving for a few years. We developed and validated nomograms to predict CS probabilities.

Risk of second cancer in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma survivors: a population-based analysis in SEER dataset

Background

Previous studies have reported increased risk of second cancer in both esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) survivors. This study aimed to examine the risk and influential factors of second cancer in ESCC and EAC patients.

Methods

This population-based cohort study included 7,297 ESCC patients and 11,812 EAC patients who were in 1992-2019 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program in the United States. These patients were followed up until diagnosis of second cancer, death, or end of the study (December 31, 2019). We calculated standard incidence ratio (SIR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of second cancer and performed competing-risk regression to estimate the subdistribution hazard ratios (sHR) comparing categories of patients' characteristics.

Results

After a total of 49,509.38 person-years of follow-up, 431 (5.9%) ESCC patients and 636 (5.9%) EAC patients developed a second cancer. An overall increased risk of second cancer was observed in both ESCC patients (SIR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.51-1.83) and EAC patients (SIR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.20). ESCC patients were at increased risk of second malignancy in oral cavity and pharynx (SIR: 12.57, 95% CI: 9.87-15.79), stomach (SIR: 3.03, 95% CI: 1.77-4.85), nose and larynx (SIR: 4.79, 95% CI: 2.47-8.37), and lung and bronchus (SIR: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.96-2.99), but decreased risk of prostate cancer (SIR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.52-0.99). EAC patients had increased risk of second malignancies in stomach (SIR: 4.41, 95% CI: 3.23-5.89), lung and bronchus (SIR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.02-1.54), and kidney (SIR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.05-2.25). The risk of second cancer was higher in female ESCC patients than in males (sHR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.63) and decreased with more advanced tumor stage in both ESCC patients (sHR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.50-0.76 for regional stage; sHR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.20-0.36 for distant stage) and EAC patients (sHR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.40-0.56 for regional stage; sHR: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.07-0.13 for distant stage).

Conclusions

Both ESCC and EAC patients are at considerable risk of certain types of second cancer.

Clinicopathological Features and Survival Trends of Non-Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database

INTRODUCTION

Owing to their low incidence, no reliable statistics about prognostication derived from large sample sizes have been reported of malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCTs) and sex cord-stromal tumors (SCSTs). The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological prognostic factors and the survival trends of MOGCTs and SCSTs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with MOGCTs and SCSTs were recorded in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database diagnosed between 2000 and 2019. Clinical, demographic, and treatment characteristics were compared between groups of MOGCTs and SCSTs. Cox risk regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) and to assess the prognostic factors.

RESULTS

Information about 2,506 patients with MOGCTs and 1,556 patients with SCSTs was extracted from the SEER database, respectively. Aged <40 years and single were more common in patients with MOGCTs than in those with SCSTs. The vast majority of patients with MOGCTs and SCSTs underwent surgery (98.1% vs. 94.5%; p < 0.001), and women with MOGCTs were more likely to receive chemotherapy than women with SCSTs (56.1% vs. 32.2%; p < 0.001). For both patients before and after propensity-score matching, the 5-year OS rates of patients with SCSTs were lower than those of patients with MOGCTs (p < 0.05). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, both age and surgery were independent predictors of OS in patients with MOGCTs and SCSTs. FIGO staging was an independent predictor of CSS in MOGCT patients. Tumor size and chemotherapy were also independent predictors of CSS in patients with SCSTs.

CONCLUSION

Compared to patients with SCSTs, those with MOGCTs tended to be younger and had a higher OS and CSS. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery did not prolong OS and CSS in patients with SCSTs.

Analysis of the distinct features of metastasis male breast cancer and its effect on overall survival based on the SEER database compared with female breast cancer

Background

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease and differs from female breast cancer (FBC) in clinicopathological and immune tissue types. Given the limited research on MBC due to its rarity, an understanding of the shared and distinct features of MBC and FBC is vital for formulating efficacious treatment strategies.

Methods

Data of patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2012 to 2017 were analysed. Chi-square test was used to compare clinicopathological characteristics between male and female patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis was utilized to compare differences in overall survival (OS).

Results

A total of 2,858 patients with MBC were studied, 134 of whom had distant metastasis. Compared with 8,698 patients with metastatic FBC, a higher proportion of metastatic MBC patients had tumors located in the center of the breast, received surgical treatment, and had bone + lung metastasis. Survival analysis revealed no difference in OS between metastatic MBC and FBC patients (P=0.27), but there was a significant difference in OS between metastatic and nonmetastatic MBC (P=0.004). Compared with metastatic FBC, MBC patients with bone metastasis alone, lung metastasis alone, liver metastasis alone, and bone + lung metastasis also had worse prognosis (P=0.021, 0.019, 0.024, 0.011, respectively).

Conclusions

Metastatic MBC has unique clinicopathological disease features and patterns of metastasis. No significant difference between the survival of metastatic MBC and FBC patients was observed. Distant metastasis was an independent risk factor impacting the prognosis of MBC patients.

A new prognostic model of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma based on Cloud-least squares support vector machine

Background

In view of the low accuracy of the prognosis model of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), this study aimed to optimize the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) algorithm to determine the uncertain prognostic factors using a Cloud model, and consequently, to establish a new high-precision prognosis model of ESCC.

Methods

We studied 4,771 ESCC patients(training samples) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and 635 ESCC patients(validation samples) from the Henan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) database, with the same exclusion criteria and inclusion criteria for both databases, and obtained permission to obtain a research data file in the SEER database from the National Cancer Institute. The independent risk factors were analyzed using the log-rank method, survival curves, univariate and multivariate Cox analysis. Finally, the independent prognostic factors were used to construct the nomogram, random forest and Cloud-LSSVM prognostic models were utilized for validation.

Results

The overall median survival time of the SEER database was 14 months (HCDC samples was 46 months), the mean survival time was 26.5 months (HCDC samples was 36.8 months), and the 3-year survival rate was 65.8%. This is because most of the patients with Henan samples are early ESCC, and most of the Seer patients are T3 and T4 people. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that age at diagnosis (P<0.001), sex (P=0.001), race (P=0.002), differentiation grade (P<0.001), pathologic T category (P<0.001), and pathologic M category (P<0.001) were the factors affecting the prognosis of ESCC patients. The SEER data and HCDC database results showed that the accuracy of the Cloud-LSSVM (C-index =0.71, 0.689) model is higher than the differentiation grade (C-index =0.548, 0.506), random forest (C-index =0.649, 0.498), and nomogram (C-index =0.659, 0.563). This new model can realize the unity of the randomness and fuzziness of the Cloud model and utilize the powerful learning and non-linear mapping abilities of LSSVM.

Conclusions

Due to the difference of clans between training samples and test samples, the accuracy of prediction is generally not high, but the accuracy of Cloud-LSSVM model is much higher than other models. The new model provides a clear prognostic superiority over the random forest, nomogram, and other models.

Causes of death after testicular cancer diagnosis: a US population-based analysis

BACKGROUND

After the introduction of cisplatin-based chemotherapy, the survival time of testicular cancer (TC) patients has improved dramatically. However, the overall risk of death in patients with TC remains significantly higher than in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess and quantify the causes of death after TC diagnosis.

METHOD

In total, 44,975 men with TC in the United States diagnosed and registered by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database during 2000 to 2018 were studied. In this study, standardized mortality rates (SMRs) were calculated for each cause of death in TC individuals and further analyzed in strata according to age and race.

RESULT

Of the included participants, 3,573 (7.94%) died during the follow-up period. The greatest proportion of deaths (38.20%) occurred within 1 to 5 years after diagnosis. Most deaths occurred from TC itself and other cancers. For non-malignant conditions, the most common causes of death within 1 years after diagnosis were accidents and adverse effects (53, 4.75%) followed by diseases of heart (45, 4.04%). However, > 1 years after diagnosis, the most common noncancer causes of death were heart diseases. Results of stratified analysis show that non-Hispanic White TC participants have a lower SMR (0.68, 95% CI, 33.39-38.67) from Cerebrovascular Diseases than the general U.S.

POPULATION

CONCLUSIONS

Although TC remains the most common cause of death after TC diagnosis, other non-TC causes of death represent a significant number of deaths among TC men. These findings help TC survivors understand the various health risks that may occur at different follow-up periods.

Epidemiological and survival outcomes of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast: a SEER data analysis

Background

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast (NECB) is a rare subtype of breast cancer, comprising only 0.1% to 5% of all breast cancer cases. Despite its rarity, it is important to gain a better understanding of the epidemiological, clinical, and prognostic features of NECB. The purpose of the study was to obtain population-based evaluations of the epidemiological and survival outcomes of NECB.

Methods

The data of patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma diagnosed and enrolled between 2000 and 2017 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to assess the distribution and tumor-related characteristics of these patients. Kaplan-Meier curves and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional risk models were used to analyze variables that might be associated with prognosis.

Results

This study included 7,856 patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma. The median age of the patients was 64 years, and most of them were female, White, and diagnosed at ≥60 years old. The most common pathological type was neoplasm. Survival analysis indicated that there were significant differences in age, marital status, registration location, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, breast subtype, surgery of primary tumor, and no cancer cause surgery patients with NECB. The results also indicated that treatment with surgery, including surgery of primary tumor, surgery combined with radiation, and no cancer cause surgery, were all effective in improving the prognosis compared with not providing surgical treatment.

Conclusions

In conclusion, NECB is a very rare lesion for which age, marital status, registration location, and surgery, AJCC stage, breast subtype were found to be independent prognostic factors.

Age and treatment disparities in survival of primary malignant cardiac tumors: an analysis of over 40 years and 500 patients

Background

Primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) are rare and tend to have a poor prognosis, due to their aggressive biological behavior and the inadequate expertise with the disease. This article compares the survival of patients with PMCT subtypes in the United States across age and treatment groups.

Methods

Data of 529 patients diagnosed with PMCTs were analyzed. Chi-squared test was used to assess significance of the differences between proportions in demographic and tumor characteristics by age and treatment. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate survival from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) follow-up data.

Results

Survival rates for PMCTs differed significantly between age groups, with patients younger than 20 years surviving significantly longer than those older than 80 years. The median survival times of all patients with PMCTs were 22.5, 11, 5, and 1 month for ages less than 20, 20-50, 51-80, and greater than 80 years, respectively (global log-rank P=0.0026). In the treatment cohort, for all tumors [hazard ratio (HR) 1.52, P<0.001], sarcomas (HR 1.83, P=0.002), and other tumors (HR 2.24, P=0.017), survival was lower in patients who did not receive treatment than in those who received only surgery. Survival after diagnosis of sarcoma was lower in patients who received radiotherapy only than in those who received surgery only (HR 1.49, P=0.046). However, there was no significant association between treatment and survival for lymphoma and mesothelioma.

Conclusions

This study confirms that PMCTs have limited treatment options and poor patient survival, especially for elderly patients and patients who receive no treatment. And patients with PMCTs of any age, whether treated or not, have poor survival rates. Techniques for early diagnosis and treatment may be necessary. Surgical treatment should have a higher priority for future treatment of patients with sarcomas.

Treatments associated with all-cause mortality among children with primary brain and central nervous system tumors: a retrospective cohort study from the SEER database

Background

Evidence on treatment modalities and survival in childhood primary brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors remains contradictory, with previous studies often lacking sufficient patient cohort sizes to assess the differences in histological subtypes. This cohort study based on a large population investigated the effects of various treatments on the mortality of patients with different histological types of primary brain and CNS tumors from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Methods

Data of demography, primary tumor site, histology, tumor grade and treatments from all pediatric patients with primary brain and CNS tumors were extracted in this retrospective cohort. The outcomes were overall, 1-, 5-, and 10-year all-cause mortality. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were to explore the associations of treatment with overall, 1-, 5-, and 10-year all-cause mortality, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Totally 10,994 children were included, with the mean age at diagnosis of 7.3 years, and the median follow-up time of 5.0 years. Of which, 2,003 (18.2%) were diffuse astrocytoma, 3,188 (29.0%) were embryonal tumors, and 3,691 (33.5%) were malignant glioma. Then 4,333 (39.41%) children died during the follow-up. For diffuse astrocytomas and malignant gliomas, patients who received all other treatments were associated with overall, 1-, 5- and 10-year all-cause mortality compared to those only received resection. Embryonal tumors patients receiving resection with radiation only and those receiving resection with both chemotherapy and radiation were associated with lower odds of overall, 1-, 5- and 10-year all-cause mortality compared to patients who only received resection. For ependymal tumors, no surgery/only biopsy with chemotherapy, resection with chemotherapy only, resection with both chemotherapy and radiation, and other treatments had increased risks of overall all-cause mortality compared with resection. The risk of 1-year all-cause mortality increased in ependymal tumors with treatment involving resection and radiation. However, resection with both chemotherapy and radiation was not significantly associated with the 1- nor 5-year all-cause mortality.

Conclusions

Resection may be recommended for children with diffuse astrocytoma, ependymal tumors, and malignant glioma, while resection with radiotherapy or chemoradiation may be recommended for children with embryonal tumors.

Construction and validation of a prognostic nomogram for locally recurrent rectal cancer: a population-based study

Background

Postoperative recurrence was a life-threatening condition for patients with rectal cancer. Due to the heterogeneity of locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) and controversy of the optimal treatment for patients, it was difficult to predict the prognosis of LRRC. This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram that could accurately predict the survival probability of LRRC.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with LRRC between 2004 and 2019 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included in the analysis. Multiple imputations with chained equations were used for missing values. These patients were further randomized into training set and testing set. Cox regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis. Potential predictors were screened by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). The Cox hazards regression model was constructed and it was visualized by nomogram. C-index, calibration curve, and decision curve were used to evaluate the model's predictive ability. Then X-tile was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values for all patients and the cohort was divided into three groups.

Results

A total of 744 LRRC patients were enrolled and allocated to the training set (n=503) and the testing set (n=241). Cox regression analysis of the training set yielded meaningfully clinicopathological variables. A survival nomogram was created based on the identification of ten clinicopathological features in the LASSO regression analyses of the training set. The C-index of 3-, 5-year survival probabilities were 0.756, 0.747 in training set, and 0.719, 0.726 in testing set, respectively. The calibration curve and decision curve both demonstrated the satisfactory performance of the nomogram for prognosis prediction. Moreover, the prognosis of LRRC could be well distinguished according to the grouping of risk scores (P<0.001 in three groups).

Conclusions

This nomogram was the first prediction model to preliminarily evaluate the survival of LRRC patients, which could provide more accurate and efficient treatment in clinical practice.

Surgical resection of primary tumors improves survival in patients with lung metastases: a population-based SEER analysis

Background

The lung is a common site for cancer metastasis. Some cancer patients would develop lung metastases throughout the course of their illness. However, choosing surgical resection of the primary tumor (SRPT) or palliative treatment in patients with lung metastases remains controversial.

Methods

Lung metastatic patients diagnosed from 2010 to 2016 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Selected patients were divided into two subgroups (surgery and non-surgery). Further, all the 58 tumor types were classified into 13 subtypes. The clinical and demographic features were examined by the Fisher's exact test, chi-squared test, or z-test. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) estimator and a log-rank test for each primary tumor type. Multivariable survival analyses of OS were performed using the Cox proportional hazards model.

Results

Among the 118,088 patients selected for study, 18,688 (15.83%) patients had undergone surgery. The analyses demonstrated that there was a significant association between SRPT and better OS in patients with lung metastases. The median survival time increased from 4.0 months in the non-surgery group to 19.0 months in the surgery group. Multivariate Cox regression analyses further validated that patients who underwent SRPT had an improved OS.

Conclusions

The current study demonstrated that patients with lung metastases can benefit from SRPT. SRPT should be considered in patients with lung metastases. Properly designed prospective randomized clinical trials would be required to further verify the conclusion.

Establishment and validation of nomograms for predicting survival of lung invasive adenocarcinoma based on the level of pathological differentiation: a SEER cohort-based analysis

Background

The pathological differentiation of invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) has been linked closely with epidemiological characteristics and clinical prognosis. However, the current models cannot accurately predict IAC outcomes and the role of pathological differentiation is confused. This study aimed to establish differentiation-specific nomograms to explore the effect of IAC pathological differentiation on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).

Methods

The data of eligible IAC patients between 1975 and 2019 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and randomly divided in a ratio of 7:3 into a training cohort and a validation cohort. The associations between pathological differentiation and other clinical characteristics were evaluated using chi-squared test. The OS and CSS analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, and the log-rank test was used for nonparametric group comparisons. Multivariate survival analysis was performed using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. The discrimination, calibration, and clinical performance of nomograms were assessed by area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

A total of 4,418 IAC patients (1,001 high-differentiation, 1,866 moderate-differentiation, and 1,551 low-differentiation) were identified. Seven risk factors [age, sex, race, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, tumor size, marital status, and surgery] were screened to construct differentiation-specific nomograms. Subgroup analyses showed that disparate pathological differentiation played distinct roles in prognosis, especially in patients with older age, white race, and higher TNM stage. The AUC of nomograms for OS and CSS in the training cohort were 0.817 and 0.835, while in the validation cohort were 0.784 and 0.813. The calibration curves showed good conformity between the prediction of the nomograms and the actual observations. DCA results indicated that these nomogram models could be used as a supplement to the prediction of the TNM stage.

Conclusions

Pathological differentiation should be considered as an independent risk factor for OS and CSS of IAC. Differentiation-specific nomogram models with good discrimination and calibration capacity were developed in the study to predict the OS and CSS in 1-, 3- and 5-year, which could be used predict prognosis and select appropriate treatment options.

Neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy share equivalent efficacy in improving overall survival and cancer-specific survival among muscle invasive bladder cancer patients who undergo radical cystectomy: a retrospective cohort study based on SEER database

Background

Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC) have been reported an 6% absolute improvement in 5-year overall survival (OS) for muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), criticism still exists including the delay of surgery and the lack of accurate pathological evidence guidance. Trials have instead focused on adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) but encountered with many difficulties. Convincing data directly compared the treatment efficacy of these 2 strategies are lacking.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the effectiveness of NAC versus AC among patients with T2-4N0-3M0 bladder cancer using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. OS and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were compared using Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival estimators and univariate Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). The baseline between groups were compared using standardized mean differences (SMD) approach and kernel density plot. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of our results.

Results

In total, 1,620 (38.9%) of all eligible patients (4,169) received NAC and 2,549 (61.1%) received AC. After adjusted for propensity score, all baseline characteristics were balanced with SMD <10%. The IPTW-adjusted survival analyses revealed no significant difference in OS between the 2 groups [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99-1.20, P=0.1]. Exploratory subgroup analysis indicated longer OS among lymph node-negative patients treated with NAC (AHR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.1-1.4, P=0.001), whereas lymph node-positive patients were in favor of AC (AHR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72-0.99, P=0.043). This treatment heterogeneity according to lymph node status is associated with better prognosis in Stage II (T2N0) patients receiving NAC (AHR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6, P=0.014). Meanwhile, in stage III-IV (T3-T4 and/or N+) diseases, NAC shares similar treatment efficacy to AC (AHR 0.98, 95% CI: 0.87-1.1, P=0.762). The analyses of CSS yielded similar, robust results on the effect of potential unmeasured confounding variables.

Conclusions

Our population-based study suggests that NAC and AC might be interchangeable in MIBC management, especially in patients with Stage III-IV (T3-T4 and/or N+) diseases. However, this conclusion needs further validation from powerful, robust randomized trials.

Removing different number of regional lymph nodes affects survival outcomes of operable patients at stage IIA non-small cell lung cancer (according to the 8th edition staging)

Background

Surgery combined with chemotherapy (CT) is the best treatment for tumor patients at stage I to IIIA. But there are only few studies specifically evaluated the survival benefits of removing different number of regional lymph nodes (RLNs) for patients with stage IIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The objective of this study is to discuss the effect of removing different number of RLNs on survival outcomes in operable patients at stage IIA NSCLC.

Methods

Through the use of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry, satisfactory patients at stage IIA NSCLC, who had complete clinical information from 2004 to 2015, were identified. Lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS) and overall survival (OS) were compared by the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analyses to determine the impact of the confounding factors on the survival outcomes. LCSS and OS as the primary endpoints were compared among patients with different number of RLNs removed.

Results

A total of 3,362 patients at stage IIA NSCLC met our criteria, including 173 (5.1%), 486 (14.5%), 2,703 (80.4%) patients without RLNs removed, with 1 to 3 RLNs removed and with greater than or equal to 4 RLNs removed, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Univariate Cox regression analyses revealed that there was a statistically significant difference on survival curve (log rank P<0.001) among the stage IIA NSCLC patients with different number of RLNs removed. Furthermore, multivariable Cox regression analyses on LCSS showed that the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of the 1 to 3 RLNs removed group and greater than or equal to 4 RLNs removed group were 0.622 (0.484-0.800, P<0.001) and 0.545 (0.437-0.680, P<0.001), respectively, compared to without any RLNs removed group.

Conclusions

This study illustrated that removing different number of RLNs can affect survival outcomes of operable patients at stage IIA NSCLC. Whether more radical lymphadenectomy is beneficial to patients at stage IIA NSCLC still needs to be researched.

Identification of risk and prognostic factors for intrahepatic vascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a population-based study

Background

The aim of this study was to develop nomograms to predict the risk of intrahepatic vascular invasion (IVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and estimate the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of HCC patients with IVI.

Methods

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients with HCC from 2010 to 2015. Ultimately, 1,287 HCC patients with IVI were included in this study and randomly divided into training (n=901) and validation (n=386) cohorts. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were performed to construct nomograms to visually quantify the risk of IVI in patients with HCC and predict the prognosis. The prediction effect of nomograms was evaluated using Harrell's concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA), respectively.

Results

The C-index of the nomogram for risk prediction was 0.730. The C-indices based on the nomogram were 0.762 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.745-0.779] and 0.770 (95% CI: 0.753-0.787) for OS and CSS prediction in the training cohort, respectively. In the validation cohort, the C-indices were 0.779 (95% CI: 0.752-0.806) and 0.795 (95% CI: 0.768-0.822) for OS prediction and CSS prediction, respectively. Overall, the ROC curve, calibration plots, and DCA indicated the good performance of nomograms.

Conclusions

We identified the relevant risk and prognostic factors for IVI in patients with HCC. The nomograms performed well on validation and may help to facilitate clinical decision-making.

Establishment and verification of a nomogram to predict tumor-specific mortality risk in triple-negative breast cancer: a competing risk model based on the SEER cohort study

Background

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the subtype of breast cancer with the worst prognosis, and traditional survival analysis methods are biased when predicting mortality. To predict the risk of death in patients with triple-negative breast cancer more precisely, a competing risk model was developed.

Methods

The clinicopathological data of the TNBC patients from 2010 to 2015 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The data were assigned into a training set and testing set at a ratio of 7:3 in a randomized pattern. Univariate and multivariate competing risk models were applied to find the independent prognostic factors. A prediction nomogram for cancer-specific mortality (CSM) risk was constructed. The accuracy and discrimination of the nomogram were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC), concordance index (C-index), and a calibration curve using the training and testing sets, respectively.

Results

A total of 28,430 TNBC patients were randomly grouped into the training set (n=19,900) and the testing set (n=8,530). The median time for follow-up was 59 [1-107] months. A total of 7,014 (24.67%) patients died, among whom 4,801 (68.45%) died from breast cancer and 2,213 (31.55%) due to non-breast cancer events. The independent risk factors were primary site of tumor, grade, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, T stage, approach of surgery, chemotherapy, axillary lymph node metastases, brain metastases, and liver metastases. The prediction nomogram was constructed by using the aforementioned variables. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year AUC of CSM were predicted to be 0.856, 0.81, and 0.782, respectively, in the training set, and 0.856, 0.81, and 0.782 in the testing set, respectively. The C-index of the nomogram was 0.801 and 0.799 in the training and testing sets, respectively. As confirmed by the validation and training calibration curves, the nomogram was consistent with the results.

Conclusions

We used competing risk models to identify risk factors for CSM and constructed a CSM risk prediction nomogram for TNBC patients, that may be utilized to predict CSM risk in TNBC patients clinically and assist in the creation of individualised clinical treatment options.

Establishment and validation of a nomogram for predicting immune-related prognostic features in trunk melanoma-specific death

Background

Trunk melanoma is one of the most common and deadly types of melanomas. Multiple factors are associated with the prognosis of patients with trunk melanoma. Currently, direct, and reliable clinical tools for early assessment of individual specific risk of death are limited, and most of them are prediction models for all-cause death. Their accuracy in predicting competitiveness events, which make up a relatively large portion, may be substantially compromised. Hence, we conducted this study to investigate the risk factors of trunk melanoma-specific death to establish a comprehensive prediction model suitable for clinical application.

Methods

Patients with trunk melanoma analyzed in this study were from the SEER program [2010-2015]. The random sampling method was used to split the included cases into the training and validation cohorts at a ratio of 7:3. Univariate and multivariate competing risk models were used to screen the independent influencing factors of specific death, and then a nomogram covering these independent predictors was constructed. The concordance index (C-index) and a calibration curve were used to evaluate the calibration degree and accuracy of the nomogram.

Results

We identified 21,198 patients with trunk melanoma from the SEER database, and 3,814 of them died (17.99%). Among the death cases, deaths from other causes accounted for 66.50%The prognostic nomogram included 8 variables and 16 independent influencing factors. The overall C-index in the training set was 0.89, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival was 0.928 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.911-0.945], 0.907 (95% CI: 0.895-0.918), and 0.891 (95% CI: 0.879-0.902), respectively. The C-index of the model in the validation set was 0.89, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year cancer-specific death (CSD) was 0.927 (95% CI: 0.899-0.955), 0.916 (95% CI: 0.901-0.930), and 0.905 (95% CI: 0.899-0.921). Both the training set and the validation set showed the ideal calibration degree.

Conclusions

This model can be used as a potential tool for prognostic risk management of trunk melanoma in the presence of many competing events.