Related Experiment Videos
Gender differences in stage-adjusted bladder cancer survival.
N A Mungan1, K K Aben, M P Schoenberg
1Department of Urology, University Medical Center St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Urology
|June 7, 2000
Summary
Women with bladder cancer have a worse prognosis than men, even when diagnosed at the same disease stage. This survival gap persists regardless of cancer stage at diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Gender disparities in bladder cancer prognosis are documented.
- Previous research suggests worse outcomes in women may stem from later stage diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if women with bladder cancer have a poorer prognosis compared to men.
- To determine if this survival difference persists after adjusting for initial disease stage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data (US) and Netherlands cancer registry data.
- Calculated 5-year relative survival rates for men and women across different American Joint Committee on Cancer/TNM stage groupings.
- Analyzed data from 80,305 US patients (1973-1996) and 1,722 Netherlands patients (1987-1994).
Main Results:
- US: 5-year relative survival was 79.5% for men vs. 73.1% for women.
- Survival rates for women were consistently lower across all stages (I-IV) compared to men.
- Netherlands data showed women with Stage II and IV disease fared worse, but Stage I survival was better than men.
Conclusions:
- Female bladder cancer patients exhibit a worse prognosis than male patients.
- The observed survival disparity is unlikely solely due to women being diagnosed at later stages.
- Further research is needed to understand the underlying reasons for this gender-based survival gap.