Twenty-four-hour urinary cortisol levels before complete resection of non-small cell lung cancer and survival

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Abstract
Cortisol has been speculated to play a role in survival from cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between 24-h urinary cortisol levels and survival from non-small cell lung cancer. From June 1996 to April 1999, a total of 226 patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer were enrolled. Urine samples were collected over a 24-h period before the curative resections. A total of 14 650 person-months (median = 71 months, range = 1–97 months) were accrued. Over the follow-up period, 56 deaths from all causes were identified through January 2004. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of death from all causes according to three categories of 24-h urinary cortisol levels. Multivariable RRs of death from all causes for individuals in the highest and intermediate categories, compared with the lowest category, were 1.09 (95% confidence interval = 0.54–2.21) and 1.17 (0.55–2.46), respectively (p for trend = 0.17). The present data do not support the hypothesis that 24-h urinary cortisol levels are associated with survival from non-small cell lung cancer.