Malignant mesenchymoma: A demographic analysis of the National Cancer Database.

Abstract

e23556 Background: Malignant mesenchymoma is a rare, aggressive soft tissue tumor characterized by the presence of two or more histologic subtypes of sarcoma. As a result of these characteristics, this cancer has a poor prognosis and a lack of proven treatment options. It may be epidemiologically beneficial to analyze the diagnostic trends to further understand the factors contributing to the disease. This study examines the demographic factors of malignant mesenchymoma, ICD-O-3 Code 8990, through the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Methods: The 2004-2020 NCDB was used for retrospective analysis. 72 patients were identified and their demographic factors such as age, sex, race, Hispanic status, educational attainment, insurance status, facility type and location, distance from facility, and Charlson-Deyo score were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to interpret incidence trends. Results: The NCDB contains 72 recorded cases of malignant mesenchymoma from 2004-2020 with an average age at diagnosis of 49.9 ± 21.3 years, with the incidence rate exhibiting variability (R2= 0.1028). Women had a considerably higher diagnosis rate (67%) compared to men (33%). The majority of patients were White (75%), and 11% of patients were Black. Most patients were of non-Hispanic origin (81%). A higher percentage of patients fell into the fourth quartile of income earners (32%) compared to the top three quartiles. A significant portion of patients (26%) did not have a high school degree. The sites with the highest cancer prevalence were the retroperitoneum (10%) and endometrium (10%). A majority of individuals (78%) had Charlson-Deyo comorbidity scores of 0. The size of the tumors ranged from 10.0 to 250.0 mm with an average size of 61.6 ± 67.4 mm. A majority of the patients (72%) underwent surgery at the primary site. Most (96%) patients survived at least thirty days following their primary surgery, with 94% surviving for ninety or more days. The mean survival time was 91.0 months. The cancer’s 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year survival rates were 61.5%, 45.5%, and 43.1% respectively. Conclusions: Based on our searches, this is the first NCDB study on malignant mesenchymoma to address epidemiological gaps in the literature. Most malignant mesenchymoma patients identified as non-Hispanic and White with a primary site of either the retroperitoneum or endometrium. The majority of patients fell into the fourth income quartile, and a significant amount did not have a high school degree. Due to this cancer’s rarity, recent literature exploring the factors contributing to the disease course is scarce. Additional research is necessary to understand how demographics influence the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes of individuals diagnosed with malignant mesenchymoma.