Pediatric Osteosarcoma and the Stages of Puberty

• Activity Number: 550
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology
• Author(s): Rachel Fonstad*+ and Logan Spector
• Companies: University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota
• Keywords: osteosarcoma ; puberty ; cancer ; race ; tanner stage ; incidence

Abstract

Introduction: Osteosarcoma (OS) incidence rates are highest during adolescence. The timing of OS diagnosis (dx) suggests that the cancer may be stimulated by growth and/or hormones during puberty. Since the timing of puberty differs by race and sex, we determine whether this difference mirrors OS dx. Methods: Puberty data was provided as estimations of mean age for each Tanner stage (TS) transition by gender and race. OS incidence was calculated using surveillance data on diagnoses during 1992 - 2010. T-tests compared mean age at OS dx by mean age at TS transition, by race and sex. Results: Black females have the lowest mean age at OS dx as well as earliest puberty advancements. In TS 4, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic males have non-significant p-values for age difference in OS dx. Although not all TS were estimated in females, the OS dx age resembles the mean age at menarche, verified by the p-values. Conclusions: Among the female population, peak age at OS dx is earliest in the black population, which coincides with earlier advancement of puberty. Stratified by race, peak age at OS dx appears to correspond to the mean age at transition to TS 4 in males and menarche in females.