Background: A secondary malignancy is the most serious complication in lung cancer (LC) survivors. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological features, predictable risk factors and survival of patients with LC who developed therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia (t-AML).
Methods: Patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database diagnosed with t-AML after LC between 1975 and 2015 were included. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were used to perform multiple primary analyses. The risk of t-AML development among LC patients was assessed using a logistic regression model. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to construct overall survival (OS) curves. Cox regression was used to assess the influence of various prognostic factors.
Results: A total of 104 patients with t-AML after LC-targeting chemotherapy were included. The median latency period to the development of t-AML was 35.5 months. The calculated SIR of t-AML was 4.00. Chemoradiotherapy, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), or localized/regional-stage LC was a risk factor for the development of t-AML. The median OS was only 1 month, and those younger than 65 years were predicted to have a better OS time.
Conclusions: t-AML is a rare but serious late complication in LC patients and is associated with a poor prognosis. It is necessary to carry out long-term follow-up and screen for t-AML in LC patients, especially among those undergoing both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with SCLC or with localized/regional-stage LC.
Keywords: Incidence risk; Lung cancer; SEER database; Survival analysis; Therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia.