INTRODUCTIONThe life expectancy of cancer patients has increased in recent decades due to better diagnostic and screening tools as well as better treatment modalities. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to study trends in long-term cancer patient survival in order to document that medical progress has conveyed benefit at the population level. In this paper, we assessed the long-term survival experience of all incident cancer patients in Singapore.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study population consisted of patients diagnosed with single primary invasive cancer from 1 January 1968 to 31 December 2002, and passively followed up to 31 December 2005. The data was derived from the Singapore Cancer Registry, which has been in existence since 1968. Relative survival via the period approach was used to provide a more up-to-date estimate by looking at recent cohorts of patients. Sex- and stage-specific survival was compared for each cancer.

RESULTSThe overall age-standardised 10-year relative survival ratios for the calendar years of 1998 to 2002 were 30.5% in males and 44.2% in females. A steady improvement in overall long-term cancer survival was observed over the study period. This upward trend in survival was observed in localised tumours and cancers with a favourable prognosis such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. In contrast, survival of cancers with poor prognosis such as lung, liver and pancreas remained low.

CONCLUSIONSAlthough factors such as changes in diagnostic criteria could influence the trend in survival, we believed that the improvement in survival predominantly reflected real progress in cancer control in Singapore.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; mortality ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Distribution ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Survival Rate ; trends ; Time Factors ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTIONTransplant rates in Singapore have been falling and there is limited information on baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of living kidney donors nationally. This study aimed to determine the safety of living kidney donor transplant in Singapore by exploring the proportion of donors that meets international selection guidelines and describing short-term clinical outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe analysed 472 donors who underwent nephrectomies from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014 from the Donor Care Registry. We described donor characteristics against 5 international guidelines and measured post-nephrectomy outcomes in 150 local donors for up to 24 months. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine the baseline variables associated with poorer outcomes.

RESULTSThere were more foreign than local donors, with differences in gender and hospital types. Selection was generally aligned with international recommendations although 3.0% (using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology [CKD-EPI] equation) to 8.5% (using radionuclide and creatinine clearance methods) of donors had inappropriate baseline estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) forage. Post-procedure, many foreign donors were lost to follow-up. Over 24 months, eGFR decreased by 33.8% from baseline before recovering gradually to 29.6%. During this period, only 2 donors were admitted for renal or urological conditions and there were no cases of end-stage renal failure or deaths. A lower baseline eGFR (HR: 1.05; 95% Cl, 1.02 to 1.09) and older age (HR: 1.04; 95% Cl, 1.00 to 1.08) were associated with a post-nephrectomy eGFR of less than 60 mL/kg/1.73 m.

CONCLUSIONKidney donation is safe in Singapore. Donor selection is in keeping with international guidelines and short-term outcomes are comparable to other cohorts.

INTRODUCTIONThis paper examines the incidence, mortality and survival patterns among all Chinese residents with prostate cancer reported to the Singapore Cancer Registry in Singapore from 1968 to 2002 by metastatic staging.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis is a retrospective population-based study including all prostate cancer cases aged over 20 reported to the Singapore Cancer Registry (SCR) from 1968 to 2002 who are Singapore Chinese residents. Follow-up was ascertained by matching with the National Death Register until 2002. Metastatic status was obtained from the SCR. Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, as well as the 5-year relative survival ratios (RSRs), were obtained for each 5-year period and grouped by metastatic stage. A weighted linear regression was performed on the log-transformed age-standardised incidence and mortality rates over the study period.

RESULTSIn the most recent period of 1998 to 2002, the age-standardised incidence and mortality rates (per 100,000) for prostate cancer among the Chinese were 30.9 (95% CI, 29.1 to 32.8) and 9.6 (95% CI, 8.6 to 10.7), respectively. The percentage increase in the age-standardised incidence and age-standardised mortality rates per year were 5.6% and 6.0%, respectively, for all Chinese Singapore residents. There was an improvement in the 5-year RSRs for Chinese diagnosed with non-metastatic cases from 51.3% in 1973 to 1977, to 76.1% in 1998 to 2002. However, the RSR remains poor (range, 11.1% to 49.7%) for Chinese diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.

CONCLUSIONSBoth age-standardised incidence and mortality rates for prostate cancer among Chinese Singapore residents are still on the rise especially since the 1990s. Since the 1990s, the improvement in RSRs was substantial for the Chinese non-metastatic cases.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; diagnosis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; mortality ; Registries ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Survival Rate ; trends ; Young Adult

Contrast Media ; Gadolinium ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mass Screening

INTRODUCTIONGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour in adults. Although the survival rate for GBM has improved with recent advancements in treatment, the prognosis remains generally poor.

METHODSWe conducted a retrospective review of GBM patients seen in National University Hospital, Singapore, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, from January 2002 to December 2011. Data on disease and treatment factors was collected and correlated with survival.

RESULTSData on a total of 107 GBM patients was analysed. Their median survival time was 15.1 months and the two-year survival rate was 23.5%, which is comparable with data published in other series. The factors associated with improved median survival time were radiotherapy dose > 50 Gy (16.1 months vs. 8.7 months, p = 0.01) and adjuvant concurrent chemotherapy (16.4 months vs. 9.2 months, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONGBM confers a poor prognosis. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy are associated with improved survival. Ethnicity may be a contributing factor to differences in GBM incidence and prognosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; ethnology ; therapy ; Female ; Glioblastoma ; ethnology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Singapore ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome

INTRODUCTION: Data on malignancy after kidney transplantation (KTX) is limited in our region, leading to challenges in the care of renal allograft recipients. We aimed to examine the epidemiology, risk factors and outcomes of post-KTX patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 491 patients who underwent KTX from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2011. Data linkage analysis was done between our centre and the National Registry of Diseases Office to determine the standardised incidence ratio (SIR), standardised mortality ratio (SMR) and risk factors for malignancy after KTX. RESULTS: 31 patients (61.3% male) developed malignancy during this period, and their median age at diagnosis was 50 (range 18-65) years. Median time to malignancy diagnosis was 2.6 (range 0.3-7.9) years, with cumulative incidence of 1%, 4% and 10% at one, five and ten years, respectively. The commonest malignancy type was lymphoma, followed by kidney cancer, colorectal cancer and malignancy of the male genital organs. Multivariate analysis identified cyclosporine use as an independent risk factor for malignancy. Compared to the general population, KTX recipients had higher malignancy and mortality rates after malignancy diagnosis (SIR 3.36; SMR 9.45). Survival rates for KTX recipients with malignancy versus those without malignancy were 100%, 93% and 64% versus 97%, 93% and 83% at one, five and ten years, respectively. CONCLUSION KTX was associated with higher mortality and incidence of malignancy. Newer immunosuppressive agents and induction therapies were not found to be risk factors for malignancy, possibly due to our relatively small sample size.