Sex disparities in use of chemotherapy and survival in patients with advanced bladder cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Women with advanced bladder cancer have inferior survival compared with men. However, women treated on clinical trials do not appear to have a survival disadvantage. Less frequent administration of systemic chemotherapy in women with advanced bladder cancer may contribute to their inferior survival. METHODS: The authors identified patients diagnosed with stage IV bladder cancer from 1998 through 2010 using the National Cancer Data Base, a national outcomes database that includes 70% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases in the United States. Sex differences in demographics, systemic chemotherapy administration, and overall survival (OS) were compared. RESULTS: A total of 23,981 patients were identified (35% of whom were female). Compared with men, women were older, more likely to be black, and less likely to be insured (P