Outcomes of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database analysis.
BACKGROUND
Sarcomatoid lung carcinomas are unusual, and reports from small single institution case series suggest poor survival rates. We sought to study the clinical characteristics of this form of non-small cell lung cancer using the Surveillance Epidemiology, End Results database.


METHODS
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried for respiratory tract malignancies of sarcomatoid histology. The demographic information and oncologic characteristics of this population were examined. A propensity score-matched analysis of patients was performed to test the hypothesis that patients with sarcomatoid cancers undergoing lobectomies perform worse that those with other non-small cell lung cancers.


RESULTS
Of 878,810 patients with lung cancer, only 3,647 patients had a diagnosis of sarcomatoid cancer (0.4%). For the additional analyses of outcomes, only patients with lifetime incidence of a single cancer, known Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results historic stage and inpatient reporting were selected (n = 1,921). Demographics, tumor characteristics, and outcomes of these patients were described. Non-small cell lung cancer cohorts (with and without sarcomatoid cancer propensity-matched on age, gender, race, year of diagnosis, grade, and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results historic stage) that underwent lobectomies or pneumonectomies were selected (n = 758). Univariate (hazard ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.31-1.97) and multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 1.67; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-2.05) revealed a significantly worse overall survival for patients with sarcomatoid cancer compared to matched nonsarcomatoid lung cancer controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Sarcomatoid cancer is a rare form of lung malignancy with outcomes significantly worse than other forms of non-small cell lung cancer. Novel multimodality treatment strategies are necessary to improve outcomes of this disease.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA. sai.yendamuri@roswellpark.org
Sai
S
Yendamuri
Laura
L
Caty
Marybeth
M
Pine
Soumya
S
Adem
Paul
P
Bogner
Austin
A
Miller
Todd L
TL
Demmy
Adrienne
A
Groman
Mary
M
Reid
D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome