Wang Rong,Shen Huanhuan,Xie Shuyang,Zhao Zhenjun
Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with small cell lung-cancer- in different age groups, and to provide reference for improving the prognostic status of patients.Methods In the SEER database, qualified small cell lung cancer patients were selected and divided into groups using X-tile software to find out the age cutoff value and group them according to age. Chi-square test and rank-sum test were used for the comparison of clinical characteristics between groups, time series test was used for the difference of survival curve, multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the influencing factors, and the forest plot was used to visualize the statistically significant factors.Results Totally 23 358 eligible small-cell lung cancer patients were included. According to the age analysis results of X-Tile software, they were divided into three groups: ≤65 years old, 66-years old and ≥80 years old. There were statistically significant differences in gender, AJCC cancer stage, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, bone metastasis, brain metastasis, lung metastasis and tumor size among patients of different age groups (P<0.05). Demographic characteristics (race, gender, family income, insurance, and marital status), AJCC stage, treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy), metastasis (bone, brain, liver and lung metastasis), and tumor size had statistically significant difference in prognosis for those below 80 years old (P<0.05).AJCC stage, treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy), metastasis (brain metastasis and liver metastasis), and tumor size had statistically significant difference in prognosis for those 80 years old and above (P<0.05), while demographic characteristics (race, gender, family income, and marital status) had no significant difference in prognosis (P>0.05).Conclusion The clinical characteristics of small cell lung cancer patients in different age groups are not all the same, and the prognostic factors are also different. Demographic characteristics, AJCC staging, treatment, metastasis and tumor size are the main influence factors of prognosis for relatively young patients; demographic characteristics are no longer the main factors that affect the prognosis for older patients. It is suggested that different measures should be taken to improve the prognosis of patients of different ages according to the main influencing factors.