Survival trends in metastatic bladder cancer in the United States: a population based study.

Abstract

To evaluate the relative survival rates for patients with metastatic bladder cancer (MBC) over the last two decades in the United States: 1991-2000 and 2001-2010. We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER*Stat) Program to analyze 6-month and 12-month relative survival rates of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Stage IV bladder cancer patients included in the SEER database. We used Z-test in the SEER*Stat Program to compare relative survival rates among cohorts of patients categorized by race, gender, and age groups (<60 and ≥ 60 years). The dataset comprised 4195 and 7629 patients with AJCC Stage IV bladder cancer in the periods 1991-2000 and 2001-2010, respectively. There were statistically significant decreases in relative survival rates for pooled data across all races (67.8 ± 0.7% in 1991-2000 vs. 64.7 ± 0.5% in 2001-2010, P < 0.01), among Caucasian (CC) and other races (Oth) men + women, among CC and Oth men, and several cohorts among men and 60 + Oth-women when categorized by age. African American patients did not show significant changes in survival. This population-based study shows that decreases in 6-month and 12-month relative survival rates among patients with MBC in 2001-2010 compared to 1991-2000, specifically, more pronounced among CC men and Oth men.