To evaluate trends in the utilization of active surveillance (AS) in a nationally representative cancer database. AS has been increasingly recognized as a strategy for patients with small renal masses (SRM), but little is known about national usage patterns.
We identified patients with clinical T1a renal masses within the National Cancer Database (NCDB) in 2010 through 2014. Patients were classified according to initial management strategy received including AS, surgery, ablation, or other treatment. We characterized time trends in the use of AS versus definitive therapy and examined clinical and socio-demographic determinants of AS among patients with SRMs using multivariable logistic regression models.
We identified 59,189 patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria. Of the total cohort, 1,733 (2.9%) individuals received initial management with AS, while 57,456 (97.1%) received definitive treatment. Surveillance rates remained below 5% in all years. On multivariate analysis, patient age (OR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.08-1.09), smaller tumor size of < 2 cm vs. ≥2 cm (OR: 2.43, 95% CI: 2.20-2.7, p<0.0001), management at an academic center vs. community center (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.83-2.29), and African American vs. Caucasian race (OR: 1.56, 95% CI:1.35-1.80) were independently associated with use of AS as initial management.
In a representative national cohort of patients with small renal masses, we observed clinical and facility-level differences in the utilization of active surveillance in patients with T1a renal masses. Further investigation is warranted to better understand the forces underlying initial management decisions for patients with small renal masses.
Urology. 2018 Jul 27 [Epub ahead of print]
Kevin A Nguyen, Adam C Nolte, Oriyomi Alimi, Walter Hsiang, Amanda J Lu, Kamyar Ghabili, Jamil S Syed, Alfredo Suarez-Sarmiento, Aaron J Perecman, Brian Shuch, Michael S Leapman
Yale School of Medicine, Department of Urology, New Haven, CT., Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, North Haven, CT., Yale School of Medicine, Department of Urology, New Haven, CT; Yale School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, New Haven, CT., Yale School of Medicine, Department of Urology, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: .