Characteristics of NSCLC patients: predictors of 5-year survival from a nationwide cohort study

<bold>Background:</bold> During the past 20 years, the survival rate of Danish non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has improved. However, the current 5-year survival rate is a modest 24%. This study investigated factors influencing the 5-year survival rate of Danish NSCLC patients. Method: A retrospective cohort study of Danish NSCLC patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2016 in the Danish Lung Cancer Registry. Data were obtained from patient medical records of a sample of 1000 patients. We compared 5-year survivors to non-survivors using the Pearson chi-squared test and analyzed associations between non-survivors and survivors using adjusted logistic regression analysis. <bold>Results:</bold> The study included 475 women and 499 men, with a mean age of 69.4 years. Among them, 7.8% were never smokers, and the mean pack-year for smokers was 43.5. Treatment with curative intent were given to 36.1%, and the 1- and 5-year survival rates were 50.0% and 18.2%, respectively. 5-year survivors were more likely to be women, younger, have better performance status (ECOG PS), and lower TNM stage than non-survivors (p<0.001). After adjusting for stage, ECOG PS, pack-years, and age, the odds ratio of being a 5-year survivor was 0.48 (95% CI 0.30-0.77) for men compared to women. Among non-survivors, patients diagnosed at a lower stage were more likely to die from non-cancer related diseases than those diagnosed at a higher stage (p<0.001). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> In Denmark, women with NSCLC are more than twice as likely to survive for five years compared to men. A substatial proportion of patients diagnosed at a lower TNM stage died of non-cancer related diseases within five years.