Based on the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results programme, to develop and validate nomograms for predicting overall survival and cancer-specific survival in geriatric patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma

This study aimed to develop and validate nomograms for improving overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) predictions in elderly patients diagnosed with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC). Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were retrieved to gather information on VSCC patients aged 60 years and older. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify independent risk factors. Based on these factors, nomograms were constructed to predict patients' OS and CSS. Model accuracy and discriminative power were assessed using the concordance index (C-index), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and calibration curves. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was also employed to assess the clinical significance of the proposed nomograms in comparison to the TNM (Tumor Node Metastasis) and AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) staging systems. Between 2000 and 2019, a total of 2736 elderly VSCC patients met the inclusion criteria and were randomly divided into two groups: a training set (N = 1927) and a validation set (N = 809). Independent risk factors for predicting OS included age, node status and tumor size. For predicting CSS, independent risk factors were age, regional node status and tumor size. The C-index for OS in the training and validation sets was 0.724 (95% CI: 0.710-0.738) and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.708-0.752), respectively. In contrast, for CSS prediction, the C-index was 0.758 (95% CI: 0.740-0.776) in the training set and 0.774 (95% CI: 0.749-0.799) in the validation set. The proposed nomograms for predicting OS and CSS in VSCC patients aged 60 and older demonstrate promising potential as reliable tools that clinicians can consider to make more informed therapeutic decisions.