[Overall long-term survival in lung cancer analyzed in 610 unselected patients]

Many studies of lung cancer survival are carried out in patients selected for certain features that usually influence prognosis favorably. The objective of this study was to assess the overall survival of unselected patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer in our practice.

We studied 610 patients for whom survival information was available, a population comprising 88% of the 694 with lung cancer diagnosed in our hospital from 1991 through 1998. The variables analyzed for their correlation with survival were age, sex, histology, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, treatment, and time of diagnosis (with patients grouped by 2-year periods).

The cases of 596 men and 14 women with a mean age of approximately 67 years were studied. Small cell tumors were found in 141, non-small cell tumors in 447, and other tissue types in 22. Surgical excision was carried out on 118 (19.3%), and treatment was confined to control of symptoms for 6.4% of the patients with small cell tumors and 40.5% of those with non-small cell cancer. Symptomatic treatment alone was more common for patients older than 70 years (52.5%) and less common during the last 2 years of the study period (1997-1998: 19%). Overall 5-year survival was 7.9% (2.8% in small cell cancer and 9.4% in non-small cell cancer). Survival rates were lower in patients over 70 years of age. Significant differences in survival were seen for successive TNM stages, with the exception of IIIA and IIIB. The 1997-1998 period saw better survival rates, at 40.8% after 1 year and 11.2% after 5 years.

The survival rates in lung cancer patients in our hospital practice are low because the rate of surgical resections is low owing to the high percentage of cases found in advanced stages. Our observations are similar to those reported from other European countries.