AGE AND RACE AS PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA

This research was undertaken to evaluate the effects of age and race o n prognosis of patients with endometrial carcinoma. A total of 279 pat ients with endometrial carcinoma treated at State University of New Yo rk-Health Science Center and Kings County Hospital Brooklyn, New York from 1975 to 1990 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were arbitra rily divided into young and old groups (less than or equal to 60 years or >60 yeats old, respectively). The distribution of grade, clinical stage, and extent of myometrial invasion by age was determined for the entire group and for black and white patients, respectively. Young an d old patients were stratified by clinical stage, grade, and extent of myometrial invasion. The corrected median survival of young and old p atients by race was evaluated by Kaplan Meier's method of analysis. Ol der patients in general had higher clinical stage, higher grade, and g reater depth of myometrial invasion than younger patients. Also, black patients had higher clinical stage, higher grade, and greater depth o f myometrial invasion than white patients. Older black patients had th e least favorable distribution of prognostic factors. Overall younger patients had a median survival of 200 months compared to 90 months for older patients (p = 0.0085). The overall corrected median survival fo r whites was 232 months compared to 108 months for blacks (p = 0.0001) . The median survival of older black patients was worst at 40 months, compared to 155 months for older white patients (p = 0.0005). Age is a very important prognostic factor in endometrial carcinoma for both bl acks and whites, and it appears to be more pronounced in older black p atients.