The Influence of Age on Cancer-Specific and Other-Cause Mortality in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design, Setting, and Data Source
2.2. Population
2.3. Outcomes, Exposure and Covariates
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
| Age Group | Low Grade n (%) | High Grade n (%) | Total n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| <65 | 545 (28.4%) | 1984 (22.1%) | 2529 (23.2%) |
| 65–69 | 293 (15.3%) | 1288 (14.4%) | 1581 (14.5%) |
| 70–74 | 292 (15.2%) | 1521 (16.9%) | 1813 (16.6%) |
| 75–79 | 334 (17.4%) | 1657 (18.5%) | 1991 (18.3%) |
| 80–84 | 258 (13.5%) | 1466 (16.3%) | 1724 (15.8%) |
| 85+ | 194 (10.1%) | 1062 (11.8%) | 1256 (11.5%) |
| Total | 1916 (100%) | 8978 (100%) | 10,894 (100%) |
| Events | |||
| UTUC death | 247 | 2673 | 2920 (26.8%) |
| Other-cause death | 638 | 2587 | 3225 (29.6%) |
| Censored | 1031 | 3718 | 4749 (43.6%) |
| Low Grade (n = 1916) | High Grade (n = 8978) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Group | 5-Year CIF (95% CI) | 10-Year CIF (95% CI) | 5-Year CIF (95% CI) | 10-Year CIF (95% CI) |
| <65 | 8.7% (5.0–12.5%) | 25.8% (21.3–30.3%) | 17.9% (13.3–22.4%) | 25.0% (20.9–29.2%) |
| 65–69 | 19.1% (14.1–24.2%) | 34.1% (20.1–48.1%) | 25.1% (20.1–30.2%) | 30.9% (27.7–34.2%) |
| 70–74 | 19.0% (12.9–25.0%) | 42.1% (34.2–50.0%) | 29.5% (26.9–32.2%) | 41.3% (37.6–44.9%) |
| 75–79 | 20.8% (7.8–33.8%) | 56.7% (50.1–63.2%) | 32.6% (28.1–37.1%) | 40.5% (37.4–43.6%) |
| 80–84 | 31.4% (20.3–42.6%) | 68.1% (60.4–75.9%) | 36.2% (34.1–38.3%) | 51.1% (47.8–54.3%) |
| 85+ | 37.0% (29.3–44.6%) | 65.2% (55.3–75.1%) | 39.4% (36.4–42.4%) | 55.0% (51.4–58.6%) |
4. Discussion
4.1. Age, Competing Risks, and Cancer-Specific Mortality
4.2. Implications for Risk Stratification and Clinical Decision-Making
4.3. Comparison with the Prior UTUC Literature
4.4. Strengths and Limitations
4.5. Future Directions
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Variable | UTUC-Specific Mortality SHR (95% CI) | p-Value | Other-Cause Mortality SHR (95% CI) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tumor Grade | ||||
| High grade (ref: Low grade) | 2.94 (2.23–3.86) | <0.001 | 1.19 (0.96–1.48) | 0.107 |
| Age Group | ||||
| <65 (reference) | 1.00 (ref) | — | 1.00 (ref) | — |
| 65–69 | 0.90 (0.57–1.42) | 0.657 | 1.62 (1.23–2.13) | 0.001 |
| 70–74 | 1.02 (0.66–1.60) | 0.919 | 1.83 (1.40–2.40) | <0.001 |
| 75–79 | 1.55 (1.06–2.26) | 0.022 | 2.92 (2.30–3.72) | <0.001 |
| 80–84 | 1.67 (1.12–2.50) | 0.012 | 3.26 (2.55–4.17) | <0.001 |
| 85+ | 2.56 (1.74–3.77) | <0.001 | 3.54 (2.74–4.58) | <0.001 |
| Grade × Age Interaction | ||||
| High grade × 65–69 | 1.34 (0.83–2.14) | 0.229 | 0.81 (0.59–1.10) | 0.179 |
| High grade × 70–74 | 1.14 (0.72–1.82) | 0.569 | 0.95 (0.70–1.28) | 0.729 |
| High grade × 75–79 | 0.94 (0.63–1.39) | 0.753 | 0.60 (0.46–0.79) | <0.001 |
| High grade × 80–84 | 0.87 (0.57–1.32) | 0.507 | 0.74 (0.56–0.98) | 0.037 |
| High grade × 85+ | 0.60 (0.40–0.90) | 0.015 | 0.80 (0.60–1.08) | 0.142 |
| Wald chi2 (11) | 326.80 | <0.001 | 442.74 | <0.001 |
| Interaction Wald chi2 (5) | 12.91 | 0.024 | 17.34 | 0.004 |
| Observations | 10,894 | — | 10,894 | — |
| Events | 2920 | — | 3225 | — |
| Competing events | 3225 | — | 2920 | — |
| Grade | Outcome | SHR per 5-yr Age Increase (95% CI) | p-Value | Wald chi2 (df) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low grade | UTUC-specific mortality | 1.21 (1.12–1.30) | <0.001 | 25.55 (df = 1) |
| Low grade | Other-cause mortality | 1.30 (1.25–1.36) | <0.001 | 152.65 (df = 1) |
| High grade | UTUC-specific mortality | 1.09 (1.07–1.11) | <0.001 | 58.67 (df = 1) |
| High grade | Other-cause mortality | 1.22 (1.19–1.24) | <0.001 | 302.76 (df = 1) |
| Grade × age interaction (combined model) | ||||
| UTUC-specific mortality | 0.980/yr (0.965–0.995) | 0.008 | — | |
| Other-cause mortality | 0.990/yr (0.981–0.999) | 0.023 | — | |
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Clark, R.; Kollipara, V.; Raman, J.D. The Influence of Age on Cancer-Specific and Other-Cause Mortality in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma. Cancers 2026, 18, 2317. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18142317
Clark R, Kollipara V, Raman JD. The Influence of Age on Cancer-Specific and Other-Cause Mortality in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma. Cancers. 2026; 18(14):2317. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18142317
Chicago/Turabian StyleClark, Roderick, Veenadhari Kollipara, and Jay D. Raman. 2026. "The Influence of Age on Cancer-Specific and Other-Cause Mortality in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma" Cancers 18, no. 14: 2317. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18142317
APA StyleClark, R., Kollipara, V., & Raman, J. D. (2026). The Influence of Age on Cancer-Specific and Other-Cause Mortality in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma. Cancers, 18(14), 2317. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18142317

