Variables examined for their potential effect on outcome were gender; age; year of diagnosis; marital status; race; ethnicity; tumor stage; t-stage, n-stage; nodes examined; nodes positive; node density (number of nodes positive/number of nodes examined); tumor size; histology; grade; SEER registry location; median family income; resection type; post-operative radiation; and tumor location. Median follow-up time was calculated by the methods of Schemper and Smith in which death becomes a censored follow-up time and was noted to be 36 and 35 months in the TS and ESR groups, respectively (9).