Survival predictors in Connecticut women with ovarian cancer, 1985-2004: A population-based study

In 2006 alone, the American Cancer Society estimated that there were over 20,000 new cases diagnosed and over 15,000 deaths from ovarian cancer. While there are many risk factors for developing ovarian cancer, what predicts a woman's survival after she is diagnosed? Age and stage of diagnosis are known survival predictors. The association between race and ovarian cancer survival is not as well established.

Predictors of survival among women (aged 40 and older) diagnosed with staged ovarian cancer from 1985 to 2004 (aggregated and analyzed in two 10-year time periods) in the Connecticut Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database were retrospectively analyzed using logistic regression. While stage of cancer, race, and age at diagnosis predict survival, urbanity of a woman's residential county does not. From 1985-1994, compared with distant stage, women with localized cancer are more likely to survive to 12, 24, 36, and 60 months post diagnosis [varied from (OR= 16.02, CI: 9.25-27.74) to (OR= 17.89, CI: 12.15-26.34)]. Similar results were seen in the 1995-2004 data, as well as with regional tumors. Age at diagnosis was also significant [varied from (OR=0.93, CI: 0.92-0.94) to (OR=0.95, CI: 0.94-0.96)]. The younger the woman was when diagnosed, the better her chance of survival. Race predicted survival only in the 1995-2004 data. At 12, 24, 36, and 60 months post diagnosis, black women compared to white women had a lower chance of survival, after controlling for age and stage of diagnosis [varied from (OR=0.34; CI: 0.14-0.87) to (OR=0.49, CI: 0.26-0.92)].