Lung cancer causes the most cancer-related deaths. The average 5-year survival in this type of cancer is about 18.6%, with only 16% of lung cancers being diagnosed at an early stage. More than half of patients diagnosed with cancer die within the first year of diagnosis, despite receiving targeted treatment. The optimal solution in the fight against lung cancer remains early diagnosis using low-dose computed tomography, before symptoms appear.
IN A study published by Mount Sinai researchers in Radiology Society of North America has been demonstrated the effectiveness of CT screening for lung cancer, with the survival rate reaching 20 years, the pathology being curable in a proportion of 81% of cases. These findings are the latest to demonstrate the importance of screening to detect lung cancers at an early stage so they can be treated completely. Unfortunately, in reality, less than 6% of eligible people participate in screening programs.
The results show that after 20 years, during which patients diagnosed with lung cancer at an early stage by low-dose computed tomography were followed periodically, the prognosis was significantly better than in the case of oncological lung pathology discovered late. Patients diagnosed with stage I cancer could benefit from surgery, with the possibility of long-term curative treatment.
Of the 1,257 patients diagnosed with lung cancer, 81% had stage I lung cancer, and the long-term survival rate was 87%. In those who were found to have nodules smaller than 10 mm, the survival rate was 95%.
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“Even though screening does not prevent cancer, it is a key tool in identifying lung cancers at an early stage, when they can be treated. Symptoms appear when lung cancer is in an advanced stage. So, the best way to find lung cancer at an early stage is to enroll in an annual screening program,” said Dr. Claudia Henschke, Ph.D., MD, professor of radiology and director of the Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program at the Icahn School of Medicine, New York, in a article published in News Wise.
Dr. Henschke studied the effectiveness of cancer detection using low-dose CT with the creation of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) in 1992. More than 87,000 patients from 80 institutions were included in this program. In 2006, researchers identified a 10-year survival rate of 80% in patients who were identified with cancer through CT screening.
In the current study, they assessed survival at 20 years, with patients being followed throughout that time. The survival rate was 80% for 1,285 of those diagnosed with early-stage cancer and 100% for those who had non-solid or partially solid lung nodules. The 20-year survival rate was 73% for the 991 patients in the study who had solid lung nodules.
This study demonstrated the importance of screening for early lung cancer detection, before the appearance of clinical symptoms when the oncological pathology is already in an advanced stage, because the cure rate is significantly higher, implicitly the survival rate of patients, because they can benefit from curative treatment.
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2023-12-30 08:45:04
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