Epidemiological analysis of conjunctival lymphoma: a population‐based study, 2000–2016

Abstract

PurposeTo study epidemiological trends of conjunctival lymphoma.MethodsA retrospective, population‐based analysis of patient data extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Registry US database was conducted from 2000 to 2016. Incidence (IR) was calculated in number of cases/million/year. Disease‐specific survival (DSS) was calculated using the Kaplan‐Meier method.Results978 cases of conjunctival lymphoma (CL) were identified, of whom 52% were females and 65% were white. The most common histological subtypes were mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT; 70.9%) and follicular lymphoma (11.7%). Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma constituted only 3.4% of cases. Overall IR of CL was 0.7. Annual percent change showed a significant decline (−1.4) in IR of CL during 2000–2016 (p = 0.02). There was no difference in IR between sexes (p = 0.34). IR in Asian/Pacific Islander patients (0.9) was significantly higher than that in white (0.6) and black (0.5) [p < 0.01] patients. Mean diagnostic age in years was 59.3 [Standard Deviation = 17.9]. IR in patients older than 65 years old (y/o) [2.36] was significantly higher than that in those 22–64 y/o (0.63; p < 0.01) and those younger than 21 y/o (0.06, p < 0.01). IR of unilateral cases (0.6) was significantly higher than that of bilateral ones (0.1) [p < 0.01] and there was no significant difference between left and right laterality (p = 0.72). 5‐year DSS during 2000–2012 was 97.4%. Race and sex did not affect survival. DSS was similar during 2010–2012 (98.5%) and 2000‐02 (94.1%) [p = 0.099].ConclusionsConjunctival lymphoma incidence is highest in the elderly and Asian/Pacific Islander populations and is not affected by sex. Incidence is decreasing over the timeframe 2000‐2016. Most common histology for CL is MALT. Overall 5‐year DSS for CL is 97.4%, and it is not affected by sex or race.BibliographySurveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute SEER*Stat software (seer.cancer.gov/seerstat) version 8.3.6.