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. 2020 Mar 1;180(3):461-463.
doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6120.

Characterizing Relative and Disease-Specific Survival in Early-Stage Cancers

Affiliations

Characterizing Relative and Disease-Specific Survival in Early-Stage Cancers

Andrea R Marcadis et al. JAMA Intern Med. .

Abstract

This cohort study examines the relative and disease-specific survival rates for patients with 10 early-stage cancers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Morris reported research funding (no personal payments) from Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, and Illumina, unrelated to this work. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Three Relationships Between Relative and Disease-Specific Survival in Patients With Early-Stage Cancer
The solid lines indicate relative survival, and the dashed lines indicate disease-specific survival. A, In some cancer types, such as stage 1 cancers of the lung/bronchus, bladder, and oral cavity/pharynx, relative survival is worse than disease-specific survival owing to upstream factors such as smoking. B, In cancers where upstream factors are less relevant, such as stage 1 pancreas and testicular cancer, relative and disease-specific survival are similar and reflect the low (pancreas) or high (testicular) curability of the cancer. C, In yet other cancer types, such as early-stage cancers of the thyroid, skin (melanoma), prostate, and breast, relative survival is higher than disease-specific survival and exceeds 100%, owing to the healthy-user effect. Numbers represent 10-year relative survival (RS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) for American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual, 6th edition, stage 1 cancers (Gleason 3 + 3 or lower for prostate) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Data are from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results 9 Research Data set, April 2019 release, based on data from the November 2018 submission (version 8.3.6), using years 2004 to 2015.

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