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Review
. 2023 Nov;32(11):1257-1264.
doi: 10.1089/jwh.2023.0019. Epub 2023 Oct 11.

Sex Differences in Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Incidence, Clinicopathological Profile, Survival, and Costs

Alessandra Buja  1 , Massimo Rugge  2   3 , Saveria Tropea  4 , Claudia Cozzolino  4 , Carlo Maria Formaro  1 , Giulia Grotto  1 , Manuel Zorzi  3 , Antonella Vecchiato  4 , Paolo Del Fiore  4 , Antonella Brunello  5 , Marta Sbaraglia  2   6 , Eliana Ferroni  7 , Carlo Riccardo Rossi  8 , Angelo Paolo Dei Tos  2   6 , Simone Mocellin  4   8
Affiliations
Review

Sex Differences in Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Incidence, Clinicopathological Profile, Survival, and Costs

Alessandra Buja et al. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: There are evident sex differences in the incidence of and mortality rates for several tumors. Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) account for no more than 1% of all malignancies in adults. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the sex differences in the epidemiology of STSs and the related costs. Methods: This retrospective population-based study draws on epidemiological data regarding cases of STS collected by the cancer registry of the Italian Veneto region for the years 1990-2018. A joinpoint regression analysis was performed to identify significant changes in the trends of the standardized incidence rates in males and females. Bivariate and survival analyses were conducted to assess differences in clinicopathological characteristics and short-term mortality by sex. Direct health care costs incurred over 2 years after a diagnosis of STS were calculated, stratified by sex. Results: The incidence rates of STS at any age were higher for males; only among males the incidence rates showed a tendency to slightly increase. No significant sex differences came to light in short-term mortality or clinicopathological profile, except for the cancer site. Health care costs in the 2 years after a diagnosis of STS were not sex related. Conclusion: The STS incidence was found to be higher for males and showed a rising trend over the last three decades only for males. These findings could result from the occupational exposure to environmental mutagens mainly involving men. Sex did not affect the survival or the clinicopathological STS profile.

Keywords: gender difference; incidence; real-world cost; soft tissue sarcoma; survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Trends in the soft tissue sarcoma incidence by sex (years 1990–2018).
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
2017–2018 Incidence of soft tissue sarcomas in the Veneto Region, by age and sex.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Kaplan–Meier curves by sex, log-rank p-value.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Survival-weighted mean costs of health care for soft tissue sarcomas at 2 years after diagnosis, by sex and TNM stage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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