Year of Publication

2023

College

Public Health

Date Available

5-2-2023

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

Committee Member

Dr. Thomas Tucker

Advisor

Dr. W. Jay Christian

Co-Director of Graduate Studies

Dr. Jaclyn McDowell

Abstract

Background/Objective: Angiosarcomas are rare, highly aggressive malignant soft-tissue sarcomas of vascular or lymphatic origin. The purpose of this study is to describe geographical distribution of angiosarcoma in Kentucky and to examine the epidemiology of angiosarcoma in Kentucky from 2000 to 2019, including the most common sites where angiosarcomas occurred and risk factors affecting survival. Methods: A sample of 246 angiosarcoma patients was received from the Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR). Kaplan-Meier curves were produced to examine overall survival, as well as survival by age, insurance type, tumor size, and SEER site. A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to estimate hazard ratios for death. A choropleth map was created featuring numerical case counts and cases per 100,000 population to visualize the geographic distribution of angiosarcoma incidence by counties in Kentucky. Results: The mean overall survival time observed in this sample was 50.2 months. Jefferson County had the highest case count (59), while Livingston County had the highest rate of angiosarcoma cases (21 per 100,000). The most common SEER sites among these cases were soft tissue, breast, and other non-epithelial skin. Patients 80 years old and younger had a decreased risk of death. Conclusions: Patients older than 80 years old have significantly poorer overall survival than the other age groups, patients with angiosarcoma of the liver, lung and bronchus, and miscellaneous malignancies have a significant increased risk of death compared to other SEER sites, and there is a significant difference between the probabilities of death and SEER site, as well as insurance type.

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