Second Malignant Neoplasm Risk Higher in Survivors of Fusion-negative Sarcoma

Survivors of fusion-negative sarcoma have a higher rate of second malignant neoplasms, compared with those with a history of fusion-positive sarcoma, according to a study published in Cancer.¹

To test whether cancer-predisposing germline mutations occur less frequently among patients with fusion-positive sarcoma, researchers compared the risk of second malignant neoplasms between pediatric, adolescent, and young adult survivors of fusion-positive and fusion-negative sarcoma.

Investigators analyzed data from 4822 survivors of fusion-positive sarcoma and 3963 survivors of fusion-negative sarcoma who were diagnosed between 1992 and 2012. All patients were aged less than 39 years at the time of diagnosis and were included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Survivors of fusion-positive sarcoma had a nearly 2-fold greater risk of developing a second malignant neoplasm, in contrast with the reference population, and survivors of fusion-negative sarcoma had a nearly 3-fold greater risk.

Survivors of fusion-negative sarcoma had a 40% higher risk of developing a second malignant neoplasm, in contrast with survivors of fusion-positive sarcoma (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.01-1.89).

Patients diagnosed with fusion-negative sarcoma between 2002 and 2012 had the most notable difference in second solid malignancy risk, versus those with fusion-positive sarcoma (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.20-4.48).                      

Reference

1. Lupo PJ, Brown AL, Hettmer S. Second malignancy risk among pediatric, adolescent, and young adult survivors of fusion-positive and fusion-negative sarcomas: Results from the SEER database, 1992 through 2012. Cancer. 2016 Aug 2. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30222 [Epub ahead of print]