Patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) who have multiple cancers have significantly reduced overall survival, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The study’s authors retrieved data about patients with SM from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) program, which collects data on many cancer cases in the United States. They found 905 cases had been identified over a period of 22 years. Patients were stratified according to a number of factors, such as age, race, gender, the number of tumors present, and different treatment modalities.
The median patient age was 55 years. There was a roughly even split between men and women: slightly more patients (50.4%) were female. The majority of patients were white (83.3%), followed by Hispanic (9.4%), Black (3.5%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) patients.
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In this cohort of patients, approximately a third (28.3%) had more than one malignancy. After three years, 80% of these patients were still alive; after five years, 76% were. Median survival significantly declined with a rise in age.
According to sex categories, the median survival was 215 months for males. It was undefined for females; the authors noted that in many categories, there was not enough data to calculate averages.
Patients with at least two malignancies had a median survival of 105 months, while patients who received chemotherapy had a median survival of 66 months. (The median survival of patients with a single malignancy was undefined, as was those who did not receive chemotherapy.)
“The lower survival rate among patients receiving chemotherapy is likely attributable to its use in more advanced disease stages,” the study’s authors wrote. “Our study highlights the critical need for vigilant monitoring for secondary malignancies in SM patients.”
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