Conditional survival in melanoma and thyroid cancer patients.

Abstract

6599 Background: Melanoma and thyroid cancer are two increasingly common malignancies. Although likelihood of survival from both cancers can vary by disease severity, it isn't known how patients' life expectancy changes the further they are from time of diagnosis. Methods: Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results (SEER) data we selected patients diagnosed with melanoma (N=95,041) or well-differentiated thyroid cancer (N=43,392) between 1998 - 2005. Patients were followed for up to 12 years. Cox regression provided estimates of disease-specific survival by SEER stage and age, which we then transformed to estimate conditional five year survival. Results: Patients with localized melanoma and thyroid cancer have an excellent five year survival at time of diagnosis and for subsequent years. For both regional melanoma and thyroid cancer there is an age gradient with improved conditional survival in melanoma patients over time. For distant melanoma, the initial five year survival is poor but improves rapidl...