A risk factor for relapse in Hodgkin's disease: female gender?
A retrospective study of 163 patients with Hodgkin's disease treated between 1969 and 1987 was performed to identify adverse prognostic factors. One hundred and thirty-five patients (83 per cent) attained a complete remission and 42 (31 per cent) of these have relapsed (median follow-up--43 months). Using multivariate analysis, no independent factors predicted for the event of relapse. However, analysis of disease-free survival revealed that females fared significantly worse than males (p less than 0.05) and this was independent of other prognostic variables. Female sex has not been recognized as an independent prognostic factor predictive of inferior survival and inferior disease-free survival.
Clinical Oncology Department, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand.
G M
GM
Jeffery
B M
BM
Colls
B A
BA
Robinson
B M
BM
Fitzharris
C H
CH
Atkinson
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014750:Vincristine