Competing risk analysis of primary tracheal carcinoma based on SEER database

PURPOSE: To analyze the prognostic factors of primary tracheal carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients of primary tracheal carcinoma were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database during 1973–2015. The potential prognostic factors were analyzed by using the competing risk analysis of R statistical software. RESULTS: A total of 485 eligible patients were enrolled. The univariate analysis indicated that age, sex, diagnostic confirmation, extension, lymph node, metastasis, multiple primary tumors, primary site surgery, and lymph node dissection were statistically significant for the patients’ death due to tracheal tumor. The multivariate analysis indicated that age (P=0.0000, CI: 1.0255–1.0630), lymph node (P=0.0000, CI: 1.6031–3.4890), metastasis (P=0.0100, CI: 1.1342–2.5790), multiple primary tumors (P=0.0000, CI: 0.0276–0.1090), and primary site surgery (P=0.0001, CI: 0.3565–0.7110) were independent prognostic factors affecting survival, and there were significant differences in the stratification of each prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Age, lymph node, metastasis, multiple primary tumors, and primary site surgery were independent prognostic factors of primary tracheal carcinoma.