Population-based survival for malignant XXXX after introduction of novel chemotherapy.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity900 @entity2615 @entity3620 @entity298
@entity3620 is known for its dismal prognosis and poor response to conventional treatment. Chemotherapy with @entity900 -antifolate combinations recently showed promising response rates and prolonged survival in randomised trials. To assess the impact of this development on clinical practice and survival at a population-based level, treatment patterns and survival trends were studied for @entity1 diagnosed with @entity2615 in the period 1995-2006. 4,731 records were retrieved from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and chemotherapy use and median survival were analysed. For the periods 1995-1998 to 2005-2006, chemotherapy use increased from 8% to 36%. Median survival increased over time from 7.1 months to 9.2 months. For @entity2615 , multivariable analysis demonstrated that survival was poorer for elderly @entity1 and @entity5 . The prognostic impact of chemotherapy increased with time. Median survival for chemotherapy treated @entity1 improved from 10.1 months (1995-1998) to 13.1 months (2005-2006). For @entity298 , median survival was poor (3.9 months) but better for females and younger @entity1 . This study demonstrates that chemotherapy use increased at a national level and coincided with an improvement in survival. The novel chemotherapy regimen appears to be more effective but, due to the observational nature of this study, alternative explanations cannot be excluded.
