Abstract
ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the trends in use of clinical diagnosis and its impact on treatment outcomes in patients receiving radiation therapy for early-stage lung cancer. MethodsThe Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry was queried from 2004 to 2012 for patients at least 18 years old in whom stage I (clinical stage T1a–T2a) lung cancer had been diagnosed and who underwent radiation therapy alone. Trends in diagnostic confirmation patterns were characterized. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess overall survival, and competing risk regression analysis was used to assess cancer-specific survival (CSS). ResultsA total of 7050 patients were included; the disease of 6399 of them (90.8%) was pathologically diagnosed and that of 651 (9.2%) was clinically diagnosed. There was no significant change in the utilization of clinical versus pathologic diagnosis (p = 0.172) over time. Patients with T1 disease (p < 0.001), tumors 0 to 1.9 cm in size (p < 0.001), and upper lobe tumors (p = 0.004) were more likely to have been clinically diagnosed. On multivariable analysis, clinical diagnosis was associated with an improved CSS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71–0.96) but was not associated with an improved overall survival (HR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.90–1.13). When stratified by T stage, patients whose disease had been clinically diagnosed as stage T1a had an improved CSS (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58–0.96, p = 0.022). There was a trend toward improved CSS in patients with clinical stage T1b tumors (HR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.55–1.00, p = 0.052). ConclusionsThe improved CSS in patients with a clinical diagnosis suggests treatment of benign disease, particularly in smaller tumors. Prudent patient selection is needed to reduce the potential for overtreatment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.