Prognostic factors, treatment, and survival in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

Abstract

IMPORTANCE There is limited information regarding the influence of patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and treatment type on the survival of patients with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). OBJECTIVE To assess prognostic factors and to evaluate the influence of treatment modality on overall survival of patients with DFSP. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We examined DFSP using data for 3686 patients with histologically confirmed cases of DFSP diagnosed between 1972 and 2012 from the 18 US regional registries of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, with linkage to demographic data from the US Census Bureau for median household income (MHI). The analysis was performed in February 2016. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome measures were tumor characteristics, prognostic factors, and overall survival in months. RESULTS There were 3686 cases of DFSP examined. Older age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08; 95% CI, 1.06-1.10; P