Variables affecting survival after second primary lung cancer: A population-based study of 187 Hodgkin's lymphoma...

Patients successfully treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) are at known risk for subsequent malignancies, the most common of which is lung cancer. To date, no population-based study has analyzed prognostic variables for overall survival (OS) among HL survivors who developed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

For 187 HL patients who developed NSCLC (among 22,648 HL survivors), we examined the impact of the following variables on OS after NSCLC diagnosis: gender, race, sociodemographic status (based upon county of residence), calendar year and age at NSCLC diagnosis, NSCLC histology and grade, HL stage and subtype, radiation for HL and latency between HL and NSCLC. Patients were grouped by NSCLC stage as follows: localized, regional or distant. All patients were reported to the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. For those variables significant on univariate analyses, hazard ratios (HR) were derived from Cox proportional hazards model.

Sociodemogaphic status, gender and latency between NSCLC and HL did not significantly affect OS of any NSCLC stage group. For patients with localized NSCLC, a history of mixed celluarlity HL was associated with a 3-fold improved OS (P=0.006). For patients with regional NSCLC, prior radiotherapy for HL was associated with a 2-fold worse OS (P=0.025).

A history of mixed cellularity HL subtype and a history of no radiotherapy for HL are favorable prognostic factors among patients who develop NSCLC. Further research into clinicopathologic and treatment-associated variables potentially affecting OS after second primary NSCLC among HL survivors is warranted.