Nomogram Predicting Cancer-Specific Death in Parotid Carcinoma: a Competing Risk Analysis

PURPOSE: Multiple factors have been shown to be tied to the prognosis of individuals with parotid cancer (PC); however, there are limited numbers of reliable as well as straightforward tools available for clinical estimation of individualized mortality. Here, a competing risk nomogram was established to assess the risk of cancer-specific deaths (CSD) in individuals with PC. METHODS: Data of PC patients analyzed in this work were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data repository and the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University (China). Univariate Lasso regression coupled with multivariate Cox assessments were adopted to explore the predictive factors influencing CSD. The cumulative incidence function (CIF) coupled with the Fine-Gray proportional hazards model was employed to determine the risk indicators tied to CSD as per the univariate, as well as multivariate analyses conducted in the R software. Finally, we created and validated a nomogram to forecast the 3- and 5-year CSD likelihood. RESULTS: Overall, 1,467 PC patients were identified from the SEER data repository, with the 3- and 5-year CSD CIF after diagnosis being 21.4% and 24.1%, respectively. The univariate along with the Lasso regression data revealed that nine independent risk factors were tied to CSD in the test dataset (n = 1,035) retrieved from the SEER data repository. Additionally, multivariate data of Fine-Gray proportional subdistribution hazards model illustrated that N stage, Age, T stage, Histologic, M stage, grade, surgery, and radiation were independent risk factors influencing CSD in an individual with PC in the test dataset (p < 0.05). Based on optimization performed using the Bayesian information criterion (BIC), six variables were incorporated in the prognostic nomogram. In the internal SEER data repository verification dataset (n = 432) and the external medical center verification dataset (n = 473), our nomogram was well calibrated and exhibited considerable estimation efficiency. CONCLUSION: The competing risk nomogram presented here can be used for assessing cancer-specific mortality in PC patients.