Contemporary trends and survival outcomes of females with esophageal cancer in the United States.

Abstract

e16100 Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) is historically a male dominant disease. Current evidence on the impact of gender on clinical presentation and survival outcomes of EC is limited by small sample size or single institution series. Methods: Patients with EC (stage I-III) were identified in the NCDB (2004-2016). Clinicopathologic and treatment characteristics of male and female patients were compared using Chi-square analysis. Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariable regression were used to estimate overall survival (OS). Results: Of 62,893 patients included, most patients were male (77.7%). Adenocarcinoma was the most common subtype (66.7%). Squamous cell carcinoma was more predominant in females (57.1% vs. 26.5%, p<0.001). Females were older (68.5 vs. 66.1 yrs; p<0.001) and more likely African American (AA, 14% vs. 8.1%; p<0.001). Females presented with more local disease (stage I, 19.6% vs. 18.2%; p<0.001) while males presented with more locoregional disease (LRD, stage II/III, 80.4% vs 81.8%, p<0.001). Of those with LRD, females less frequently received chemotherapy (CT, 75.4% vs. 82.9%, p<0.001), radiation therapy (RT, 78.9% vs. 82.6%, p<0.001), and esophagectomy (EG, 28% vs. 40.5%, p<0.001). White females with LRD received less CT (76.2% vs. 83.9%, p<0.001), RT (79.5% vs. 83.3%, p<0.001), and EG (30.6% vs. 43.5%, p<0.001). AA females with LRD received less CT (71.9% vs. 75.2%, p=0.013) and RT (77.4% vs. 80.5%, p=0.013) but had similar rates of EG as AA males (p=0.476). Females had worse OS than males (18.1 vs. 19.7mo, p=0.001; cI: 23.5 vs. 31.9mo, p<0.001; LRD: 17.2 vs 18.3mo, p=0.473). White females had worse OS than white males (18.6 vs. 20.4mo, p<0.001) while AA females had better OS (13.5 vs. 12.6mo, p=0.001). White females who underwent EG had improved OS over white males (47.6 vs 38mo, p<0.001) while AA males and females who underwent EG had similar OS (p=0.473). Female gender, older age, AA race, high comorbidity score and clinical stage, and lack of access to CT, RT, and EG were independent predictors of mortality (Table 1). Conclusions: Females with EC seem to have less access to CT, RT, and EG with worse OS than males. Healthcare policies should focus on increasing access to standard treatments for female patients with EC.[Table: see text]