[Survival rates in bronchial carcinomas depending on the manner of detection]

During 1975-1978 in 3 districts of Berlin, 985 patients with lung cancer have been newly registered. In 805 patients the type of detection, asymptomatic or symptom-detected, has been evaluated carefully. Asymptomatic and symptom-detected cases have been compared with respect to their fatality: 5-year-survival rates for asymptomatic or symptom-detected cases amounted to 6.8 and 2.0 per cent, respectively. There was no significant difference between survival rates for cases aged 75 and more. Because of these small or non-significant differences, long-term effects on mortality by screening asymptomatic people seems to be extremely small if they exist at all. Therefore, looking at the methods available for earlier detection, screening for lung cancer must be discussed more critically than optimistically.