Wang-Zhong Li1,2, Shu-Hui Lv1,2, Guo-Ying Liu1,2, Hu Liang1,2, Wei-Xiong Xia3, Yan-Qun Xiang4,5. 1. State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. 2. Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. 3. Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. xiawx@sysucc.org.cn. 4. State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. xiangyq@sysucc.org.cn. 5. Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. xiangyq@sysucc.org.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The mortality of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is usually lower in females than in males, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. We sought to describe the age-dependent patterns of gender disparities in NPC survival and explore the extent to which the confounder or mediation effects could explain these differences. METHODS: A total of 11,980 patients with NPC were reviewed. The effect of gender on cancer-specific survival (CSS) was assessed using Cox regression analyses. Two propensity score methods were conducted to control the confounding bias between genders. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to model the association of gender and age with mortality flexibly. Multiple mediation analysis was applied to estimate the direct or indirect effect of gender on CSS. RESULTS: Overall, 7026 males and 2320 females were analyzed. The crude CSS was significantly higher for females than males (10-year CSS 78.4% vs 70.3%; P < 0.001). Similar results were observed after adjusting for confounding bias. Gender disparities in NPC-specific mortality were age-dependent, where they would increase with age until peaking at age 55-60 years and decline rapidly afterward. Subgroup analyses revealed that females' survival advantage was observed in the 18-45 age group and was more prominent in the 46-55 age group, but vanished in the > 55 age group. Either confounder or mediation effects only accounted for approximately 20% of the gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: Gender disparities in cancer-specific mortality for patients with NPC were age-dependent. The differences mostly cannot be explained by confounder or mediation effects.
BACKGROUND: The mortality of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is usually lower in females than in males, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. We sought to describe the age-dependent patterns of gender disparities in NPC survival and explore the extent to which the confounder or mediation effects could explain these differences. METHODS: A total of 11,980 patients with NPC were reviewed. The effect of gender on cancer-specific survival (CSS) was assessed using Cox regression analyses. Two propensity score methods were conducted to control the confounding bias between genders. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to model the association of gender and age with mortality flexibly. Multiple mediation analysis was applied to estimate the direct or indirect effect of gender on CSS. RESULTS: Overall, 7026 males and 2320 females were analyzed. The crude CSS was significantly higher for females than males (10-year CSS 78.4% vs 70.3%; P < 0.001). Similar results were observed after adjusting for confounding bias. Gender disparities in NPC-specific mortality were age-dependent, where they would increase with age until peaking at age 55-60 years and decline rapidly afterward. Subgroup analyses revealed that females' survival advantage was observed in the 18-45 age group and was more prominent in the 46-55 age group, but vanished in the > 55 age group. Either confounder or mediation effects only accounted for approximately 20% of the gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: Gender disparities in cancer-specific mortality for patients with NPC were age-dependent. The differences mostly cannot be explained by confounder or mediation effects.
Entities:
Keywords:
Age-dependent changes; Cancer survival; Gender disparities; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Na Liu; Nian-Yong Chen; Rui-Xue Cui; Wen-Fei Li; Yan Li; Rong-Rong Wei; Mei-Yin Zhang; Ying Sun; Bi-Jun Huang; Mo Chen; Qing-Mei He; Ning Jiang; Lei Chen; William C S Cho; Jing-Ping Yun; Jing Zeng; Li-Zhi Liu; Li Li; Ying Guo; Hui-Yun Wang; Jun Ma Journal: Lancet Oncol Date: 2012-05-03 Impact factor: 41.316