Epidemiology and outcomes of primary pediatric lung malignancies: Updates from the SEER database

Background: Primary pediatric lung malignancies are rare tumors. We provide an updated analysis of the epidemiology and prognosis of these tumors since the last SEER series published in 2009. Methods: The SEER 18 database from 1975 to 2016 was analyzed for patients ages 0-19 years with primary lung and/or bronchus neoplasms. Results: 348 patients met inclusion criteria. The majority were white and >= 12 years of age. The most common histologies were neuroendocrine (41.4%) and blastoma (16.4%). 75.4% of patients had local-regional disease and 81.4% underwent surgery. Significant differences between histologies were seen for age, year at diagnosis, tumor laterality and location, stage, and treatment type. Median survival was 36.6 years (95% CI 33.3-37.4). Blastoma (HR 3.47) and squamous cell (HR 6.26) carried a significantly higher risk of death than neuroendocrine cancer diagnosis. Conclusion: Primary pediatric lung malignancies are rare, long-term survival is favorable but histology-dependent. Surgery continues to be an important treatment modality. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.