Age is a powerful predictor of survival in pT2N0M0 clear cell renal cell cancer patients: A SEER-based study

Abstract

Background: To elucidate whether age is a prognostic factor in clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC) with stage II (pT2N0M0,the American Joint Committee on Cancer 6 th or 7 th staging system) , we analyzed data from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database to evaluate the impact of age on clinicopathological features and survival in pT2N0M0 ccRCC patients. Methods: A total of 2806 patients with stage II (pT2N0M0) were collected. Patients were categorized into three groups according to age at diagnosis as follows: young age (< 40 years, n = 129), middle-age (40-69 years, n = 2,075), and old age (≥ 70 years, n = 602) groups. Clinicopathological variables and survival rates were compared between the three groups. Results: 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 93.0%, 83.9%, 69.3% respectively and 10-year OS rates were 87.6%, 74.5%, 47.0% respectively in the young, middle, and old age groups (P<0.001). 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates were 94.6%, 88.4%, 84.4% respectively and 10-year CSS rates were 90.7%, 82.1%, 74.6% respectively in the young, middle, and old age groups (P<0.001). Age at diagnosis was the only predictor for both overall survival and cancer-specific survival in multivariate analysis (each P<0.001). Age together with marital status, tumor size and grade were independent prognostic factors for CSS in multivariate analysis (P<0.001,P=0.017, P=0.001, P=0.02 respectively). Conclusions: Age at diagnosis is a powerful predictor for survival in pT2N0M0 clear cell renal cell cancer patients. Compared to their young counterparts, elder patients have a significantly worse outcome with regard to overall survival and cancer-specific survival.