Paolo Tralongo1, Antonella Surbone2, Diego Serraino3, Luigino Dal Maso3. 1. Umberto I Hospital, Siracusa, Italy. 2. New York University Medical School, New York, NY, USA. 3. Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Aviano, Italy.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This review aimed to classify major patterns of cancer cure and discuss clinical implications. Patterns of cancer cure were identified, in terms of long-term survival and life expectancy, by means of two recently estimated indicators: cure fraction (CF) and time to cure (TTC). METHODS: We considered population-based studies reporting results for some cancer types on CF, defined as the proportion of patients who will reach the same life expectancy of the general population, or/and TTC, the time span necessary to experience a negligible excess mortality. TTC is obtained using conditional relative survival, which indicates the probability of surviving an additional y number of years, given that patients already survived x number of years. RESULTS: Four major patterns of cancer types emerged from published studies: (a) cancers with a CF > 60% and a TTC < 5 years (e.g., testicular, thyroid); (b) cancers with a CF between 20% and 50% and a TTC < 10 years (colon, rectum); (c) cancers showing a CF of approximately 50% and TTC > 10 years (breast, prostate and bladder); (d) cancers with a CF < 20% and uncertain TTC (lung or pancreas). CONCLUSION: Clinical and social impact of "cancer cure" categorisation are discussed in details. Recognising a cancer patient as cured represents an opportunity to improve their quality of life.
INTRODUCTION: This review aimed to classify major patterns of cancer cure and discuss clinical implications. Patterns of cancer cure were identified, in terms of long-term survival and life expectancy, by means of two recently estimated indicators: cure fraction (CF) and time to cure (TTC). METHODS: We considered population-based studies reporting results for some cancer types on CF, defined as the proportion of patients who will reach the same life expectancy of the general population, or/and TTC, the time span necessary to experience a negligible excess mortality. TTC is obtained using conditional relative survival, which indicates the probability of surviving an additional y number of years, given that patients already survived x number of years. RESULTS: Four major patterns of cancer types emerged from published studies: (a) cancers with a CF > 60% and a TTC < 5 years (e.g., testicular, thyroid); (b) cancers with a CF between 20% and 50% and a TTC < 10 years (colon, rectum); (c) cancers showing a CF of approximately 50% and TTC > 10 years (breast, prostate and bladder); (d) cancers with a CF < 20% and uncertain TTC (lung or pancreas). CONCLUSION: Clinical and social impact of "cancer cure" categorisation are discussed in details. Recognising a cancerpatient as cured represents an opportunity to improve their quality of life.
Authors: Elvin T Ng; Russell Z Ang; Bach X Tran; Cyrus S Ho; Zhisong Zhang; Wanqiu Tan; Yu Bai; Min Zhang; Wilson W Tam; Roger C Ho Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2019-12-06 Impact factor: 3.390