Table 2.
Telomere length and lung cancer-specific mortality by histotype among lung cancer cases.a
| TL tertileb | Lung cancer deaths | Total lung cancer cases | HR | (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All lung cancer casesc | ||||
| 1 (shortest) | 212 | 261 | 1.08 | (0.89–1.32) |
| 2 | 214 | 267 | 1.04 | (0.86–1.27) |
| 3 (longest) | 209 | 260 | 1.00 | (Ref.) |
| P-trend | 0.42 | |||
| Adenocarcinoma | ||||
| 1 (shortest) | 49 | 59 | 1.35 | (0.90–2.02) |
| 2 | 43 | 55 | 1.17 | (0.78–1.78) |
| 3 (longest) | 58 | 75 | 1.00 | (Ref.) |
| P-trend | 0.15 | |||
| Squamous cell | ||||
| 1 (shortest) | 42 | 55 | 0.86 | (0.52–1.43) |
| 2 | 38 | 53 | 0.76 | (0.46–1.25) |
| 3 (longest) | 34 | 42 | 1.00 | (Ref.) |
| P-trend | 0.63 | |||
| Small cell | ||||
| 1 (shortest) | 45 | 47 | 1.74 | (1.05–2.90) |
| 2 | 37 | 38 | 1.66 | (0.98–2.83) |
| 3 (longest) | 30 | 36 | 1.00 | (Ref.) |
| P-trend | 0.04 | |||
Abbreviations: HR = hazard ratio; CI = confidence interval; TL = telomere length.
a
Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age at blood draw, sex, race, smoking status at blood draw, asbestos exposure, enrollment year, intervention arm, and pack years at blood draw.
b
Telomere tertile cut-offs were determined among all lung cancer cases, and are defined by the following non-transformed relative telomere length ranges: 0.23 to <0.84, 0.84 to <1.15, and 1.15 to <2.45.
c
"All lung cancer cases" includes adenocarcinoma, squamous cell, and small cell, as well as 328 cases for whom histotype was NSCLC, NOS; other NSCLC; unknown or missing.