Association Between Female Sex and Better Survival in Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Studies conflict on whether sex influences survival in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). GEP-NETs express receptors and genes responsive to female hormones. We hypothesized that women would have improved survival and this difference would be greater in premenopausal age women compared to older women.

The National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2016 was queried for patients with GEP-NETs based on histologic code. Demographic, tumor, treatment, and socioeconomic characteristics were compared between men and women and age ≤45 or >65 y using Fisher's exact and Wilcoxon tests as appropriate. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

Included in the study were 73,521 patients with small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNETs), gastric neuroendocrine tumors (GNETs), or pancreas neuroendocrine tumors (36,197 female, 37,324 male). Women lived longer regardless of primary site, with the largest difference in GNETs (median OS 139 versus 85 mo) and smallest in SBNETs (121 versus 116, P < 0.001 for both). While male patients more often had high grade and metastatic disease, female sex remained independently associated with improved OS after adjusting for confounders (hazard ratio 0.84, P < 0.001). In GNETs and SBNETs, female sex had a larger beneficial effect on OS in premenopausal than postmenopausal patients.

Women with GEP-NETs have improved survival over men, especially in the premenopausal age group. This may be due to a protective effect of female hormones; however, further studies are necessary to uncover the biologic basis of this difference.