title: A comparison of younger vs older women with vulvar cancer in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare the prognostic variables and survival of younger (< 50 years) to that of older (> or = 50 years) women with vulvar cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva were identified from the limited use Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program 1988-2005. Comparisons between younger and older women were accomplished with chi(2) and t-tests. Survival analysis was accomplished with Kaplan-Meier for univariate analysis and Cox proportional hazards model for multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 6965 patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 1345 patients (19.3%) were younger and 5620 patients (80.7%) were older. The 5-year survival was 87.5% for younger women and 52.5% for older women (P < .001). After data were controlled for race, stage, grade, and surgical treatment, older patients had a hazard ratio of 3.9 (95% CI, 3.2-4.7) for death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A striking survival difference exists between younger and older women with squamous cell vulvar cancer, which supports the view that etiopathogenesis of this disease may vary between age groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. skumar@med.wayne.edu
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Jay P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Anthony N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Imudia
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Malone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018426:SEER Program / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D055815:Young Adult