Lung Metastases in Newly Diagnosed Hypo-pharyngeal Cancer: A
Population-Based Study
Abstract
Objectives: To characterize the incidence proportions and survival
probability of patients with hypo-pharyngeal cancer and lung metastases.
Design: Secondary data analysis Setting: The Surveillance, Epidemiology,
and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute.
Participants: We identified 2814 adult patients diagnosed with
hypo-pharyngeal cancer between 2010 and 2014 for whom the status of lung
metastases was known. Patients with an unknown follow-up were excluded;
leaving 2714 patients in this cohort. Main outcome measures:
Multivariable logistic and Cox regression models were performed to
identify the risk factors associated with the presence of lung
metastases at diagnosis and five-year all-cause mortality respectively.
Results: We identified 128 patients with lung metastases at the time of
diagnosis of hypo-pharyngeal cancer, representing 4.7% of the entire
cohort. Females were less likely to have lung metastases (15,
11.7%)(P=0.037). Incidences of lung metastases was higher among
patients with histological grade III/IV (56, 43.8%)(P<0.001).
Patients with lung metastases had a larger tumor size(49.9690.25mm, P
<0.001). For each 10 mm increase in tumor size, the odds of
having lung metastases increased by 6.6%. Patients with lung metastases
had a shorter survival time(HR:3.05, 95% CI:2.17-4.28,
P<0.001). For age, tumor size increase and black study
subjects were also significantly associated with a shorter survival
time. Conclusion: Our study provides insight into the epidemiology of
lung metastases in patients with hypo-pharyngeal cancer. When the tumor
is diagnosed, we should pay close attention to the sex, race, tumor size
and histological grade in order to quickly detect the distant
metastases.