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Few studies have investigated the seasonal patterns of embryonal tumours. Based on data from the French National Registry of Childhood Cancers, the present study aimed to investigate seasonal variations in embryonal tumour incidence rates by month of birth and by month of diagnosis. The study included 6635 primary embryonal tumour cases diagnosed before the age of 15 years over the period 2000‐2015 in mainland France. Assuming monthly variations in incidence rates were homogeneous over 2000‐2015, we used a Poisson regression model to test for overall heterogeneity in standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) by month of birth or diagnosis. The seasonal scan statistic method was used to detect monthly excesses or deficits of embryonal tumour cases over the whole study period. The annual reproducibility of the observed monthly variations was formally tested. An overall heterogeneity in incidence rates by month of birth was observed for rhabdomyosarcoma in boys only. Based on the month of diagnosis, a seasonality was evidenced for unilateral retinoblastoma, with a lower incidence rate in the summer (SIRJul‐Aug = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.52‐0.87), whilst the incidence rate of rhabdomyosarcoma tended to be lower in August (SIRAug = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.52‐0.89). No seasonality was detected for the other embryonal tumour groups by month of birth or month of diagnosis. This study is one of the largest to have investigated the seasonality of childhood embryonal tumours. The study showed a seasonal variation in the incidence rates by month of diagnosis for unilateral retinoblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Our findings are likely to reflect a delay in consultation during the summer months. However, the role of seasonally varying environmental exposures cannot be ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Sarcomas are rare, heterogeneous, ubiquitously localized malignancies with many histologic subtypes and genomic patterns. The survival of patients with sarcoma has rarely been described based on this heterogeneity; therefore, the authors' objective was to estimate survival outcomes in patients who had sarcomas using the 2020 version of the World Health Organization classification of soft tissue and bone tumors. METHODS: Patients older than 15 years who had incident sarcoma diagnosed between 2005 and 2010 were extracted from 14 French population‐based cancer registries covering 18% of the French metropolitan population. Vital status for each patient was actively followed up to June 30, 2013. Net survival (NS) was estimated using the unbiased Pohar‐Perme method. RESULTS: Overall, 4202 patients were included. NS declined with increasing age at diagnosis. According to topographic groups, large 5‐year NS disparities were observed, ranging from 47% among women with gynecologic sarcomas to 89% among patients with skin sarcomas. Patients with soft tissue, bone, and gastrointestinal sarcomas had 5‐year NS rates of 53%, 61%, and 70%, respectively. Similar heterogeneity was observed according to histologic subtypes, with 5‐year NS ranging from 19% for patients with angiosarcomas to 96% for patients with dermatofibrosarcomas. Patients with sarcoma who displayed missense mutations had a better 5‐year NS (74%); those with MDM2‐amplified sarcomas had the worst NS (45%). CONCLUSIONS: NS rates in patients with sarcoma are presented here for the first time based on the 2020 World Health Organization classification applied to population‐based registry data. Large prognostic heterogeneity was observed based on age, topographic and histologic groups, and genomic alteration profiles, constituting a benchmark for future studies and clinical trials. In this study based on the 2020 version of the World Health Organization classification of soft tissue and bone tumors applied to the French population‐based cancer registries, large survival heterogeneity of sarcomas was observed on age, topographic and histologic groups, and genomic alteration profiles. This study emphasized the major determinants of survival in patients with sarcoma, providing a new benchmark for future studies or clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]