(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new examination of patients who underwent lung
cancer resection surgery shows the type of screening used to detect cancer may
impact a patient's survival rate.
The analysis of 2,281 patient records was led by Dr. Hisao Asamura at The
National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. The patients were classified
based on the way their lung cancer was detected, either through a CT scan or
x-ray. Those detected through a CT scan had a 91.2 percent 5-year survival rate,
as opposed to 77.8 percent for those detected through x-ray.
The detection type also played a role in the patient's survival rate. Screen
detection demonstrated the highest rate, at 79.6 percent. Other detection types
include symptoms (74.6 percent) and initial detection (64.6 percent.)
Results may be explained by a CT scan's higher accuracy than x-rays. A CT scan
has the capability to detect tumors at an earlier stage, while it is smaller and
more operable.
SOURCE: Published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, May 2009
