Age and survival of cervical cancer patients with bone metastasis.

BACKGROUND To determine survival times of cervical cancer patients with bone metastasis related to the effect of age at the time of cervical cancer diagnosis, we performed the retrospectively analytical study. METHODS A total of 68 cervical cancer patients with bone metastasis were treated at a single hospital, during January 1998 to December 2010. Fifty-two medical records were identified and collected, the remaining sixteen medical records were not found. Main outcome measures were patient characteristics, clinical information, duration from cervical cancer diagnosis to bone metastasis diagnosis, survival time after bone metastasis and overall survival time. RESULTS Among fifty-two cervical cancer patients with bone metastasis, there were 13 patients who were less than 45 years old, and 39 patients were 45 years old or more at the time of cervical cancer diagnosis. The younger group had less median overall survival than the older group, with a statistically significant difference (21 months, 95% CI 19.93-22.06; 34 months, 95% CI 23.27-44.72, p = 0.021). However, they were comparable in the duration from cervical cancer diagnosis to bone metastasis diagnosis and the survival time after bone metastasis. CONCLUSION Young patients with bone metastasis aged less than 45 years old at the time of cervical cancer diagnosis have a poorer prognosis than the elderly patients. IMPACT To improve survival and quality of life, more intensive and novel multimodal treatments at the time of cervical cancer diagnosis should be considered in patients less than forty-five years, who can tolerate the side effects better.