Pancreas cancer: Influence of gender and other demographic and clinical parameters on survival.

Abstract

e12529 Background: Research suggests that lower excess mortality risk for females compared to men do exist for several cancer types. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether gender affects pancreatic cancer prognosis. In addition, the relationship of sex and survival adjusted for clinical and demographic factors was assessed. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (version 1973-2009) was used to identify patients with primary histological confirmed pancreas cancer (≥18 years, 80,689 males and 82,356 females). The analysis was stratified by five different stages (in situ, locally invasive, regional, distant, unstaged). The crude effect of gender was assessed in the total sample and in age-stratified Kaplan-Meier Curves (<55 years) in all five stages, respectively. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were run within the local stage. The predictors included in the models were demographic and clinical factors. P-values (2-sided) of 0.05 were assumed as statistical significant. Results: Between 1973 and 2009, 128,645 pancreas cancer-related deaths were reported. The median follow-up time of the censored patients was 13 months. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant difference in survival among men and female in the locally invasive group (median survival in male and female: 7 months; 1-year survival: 35.5% and 35.1% among female and men, respectively; Log-Rank: p=0.0072). Of the remaining strata, all others had non-significant differences, except the unstaged group (Log-Rank: p= <.0001). The univariate Cox-regression indicated a 5.6% (95%CI: 1.4%, 9.9%, p=0.0081) higher rate of dying among men compared to female (local recurrence). Among the younger population (<55 years), the gender difference was significant across all disease stages, except the in situ group. Histology grade, age, race, and marital status was associated with survival from pancreatic cancer in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: The present study indicates a gender difference in survival among pancreas cancer patients. The study findings are, however, preliminary and hypothesis generating and a matter for further investigation to give a distinct conclusion.