Premium
A cause‐specific Cox model for second primary tumors in patients with head and neck cancer: A RONCDOC study
Author(s) -
Bugter Oisín,
Iwaarden Dirk L. P.,
Leeuwen Nikki,
Nieboer Daan,
Dronkers Emilie A. C.,
Hardillo José A. U.,
Baatenburg de Jong Robert J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.26666
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck cancer , confidence interval , esophagus , cancer , comorbidity , head and neck , oncology , proportional hazards model , relative risk , surgery
Background The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of second primary tumors (SPTs) in the head and neck region, lungs, and esophagus in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods We collected data from 1581 patients. A cause‐specific Cox model for the development of an SPT was fitted, accounting for the competing risks residual/recurrent tumor and mortality. Results Of all patients, 246 (15.6%) developed SPTs. Analysis showed that tobacco and alcohol use, comorbidity, and the oral cavity subsite were risk factors for SPTs. The C‐index, the discriminative accuracy, of the model for SPT was 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.61–0.68). Conclusions Our results show that there is potential to identify patients who have an increased risk to develop an SPT. This might increase their survival chances and quality of life. More research is needed to provide head and neck clinicians with definitive recommendations.