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Causes of death following small cell lung cancer diagnosis: a population-based analysis
Xue-Qin Wu1,2,3, Jing-Yi Li1,2,3, Wen-Jing Du4,5,6
1Department of Radiotherapy, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital, Taiyuan, 030000, Shanxi, China.
Purpose:
To examine the distribution of causes of death (CODs) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
Methods:
Patients diagnosed with SCLC were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database during 2004-2015. Standardized mortality rates (SMRs) were performed for each COD to present changes in risk for a particular COD following SCLC diagnosis.
Results:
A total of 44,506 patients diagnosed with SCLC were identified in this study, and 42,476 patients died during the follow-up. Of total deaths, 69.5% occurred within the first years after diagnosis, 26% occurred from 1 to 3 years, and 4.5% individuals survived longer than 3 years. In addition, 88.7% of deaths were caused by SCLC, followed by non-cancer causes (7.1%) and other cancers (4.2%). Moreover, non-cancer CODs increased from 6.3 to 30% over time after 3 years of diagnosis. As for non-cancer CODs, cardiovascular diseases, COPD, and septicemia were the most common in SCLC.
Conclusion:
Non-cancer CODs, such as cardiovascular events, COPD and septicemia, contribute to a considerable proportion of deaths among long-term SCLC survivors, supporting the involvement of multidisciplinary care for the follow-up strategy in SCLC.
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