Demographic and socioeconomic analysis of patients with glucagonoma: Insights from the National Cancer Database.

Abstract

e16319 Background: Glucagonoma is a rare glucagon-producing alpha islet cell tumor primarily of the pancreas, and a type of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. These types of cancers have a 10-year survival rate of about 38%. Metastasis may be found in approximately 50% of glucagonoma cases. As a result of the low incidence of glucagonoma, analysis of the diagnostic patterns may provide more insight into the disease’s epidemiology. This study analyzed the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to examine demographic factors of individuals diagnosed with glucagonoma. Methods: ICD-8152-3 Data from the NCDB between 2004-2020 was gathered to perform a retrospective cohort analysis on patients diagnosed with glucagonoma (N = 88). Descriptive statistics were used to investigate demographic factors such as age, sex, race, Hispanic status, years of education, insurance, facility type, distance from facility, and Charlson-Deyo score. Regression analysis was utilized to evaluate incidence trends. Results: We found that patients had an average age of 61 years (SD = 13, range = 23-90), with an average tumor size of 53 mm (SD = 39, range = 12-140), and the majority were male (61%) and White (90%). The majority of patients (97%) did not receive palliative care, with surgery (57%) and chemotherapy (28%) being the primary treatments. Post-surgery, 90% had no residual tumor, and survival rates were 98% after thirty days and 96% after ninety days. Most were treated in academic/research facilities (43%) and had private insurance (59%) or Medicare (34%). The largest median household income quartile of these patients was $74,063 or more (39%).The study noted a 2-year survival rate of 74%, a 5-year rate of 54%, and a 10-year rate of 31%, with a mean survival of 89.3 months. The primary disease sites were the tail of the pancreas (32%) and pancreas, NOS (22%). The distribution across NCDB Analytic Stage Groups was 19% for Stage I, 11% for Stage II, 2% for Stage III, and 23% for Stage IV. Conclusions: This study represents the first analysis of glucagonoma patients using the National Cancer Database, filling a gap in our understanding of the disease. The findings indicate that the majority of glucagonoma patients were non-Hispanic, White, and had tumors primarily located in the tail of the pancreas, aligning with earlier case report descriptions. Socioeconomically, patients most likely had earnings above the median income quartile, resided in densely populated metropolitan areas, and received treatment in academic facilities. Further investigation is necessary to have a more thorough grasp of the impact of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics on glucagonoma patients' diagnosis, course of treatment, and overall survival rates.