Abstract
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), lung cancer (LC) was the third leading cause of deaths due to cancer in 2017. Around 80% of the patients in the UAE are diagnosed at a late stage, rendering the treatment less effective in improving survival outcomes. Lack of awareness of disease symptomatology, deficient screening initiatives, misdiagnosis, and delayed referral to the specialist are contributing factors for delayed diagnosis. Effective screening at a primary care setting can be crucial for early diagnosis, referral to specialists, and enhancing patient outcomes. It is important to establish screening and referral guidelines through which each suspected case can be identified and provided timely intervention. Although the international screening and referral pathway framework are comprehensive, several regional barriers need to be addressed before they can be adapted at the national level. A group of LC experts from the UAE deliberated on issues like delayed diagnosis of LC and strategic recommendations for overcoming the challenges. The discussion was based on the review of the published evidence, international and regional guidelines for screening and early diagnosis of LC. Herein, we present a guideline, endorsed by the esteemed panel of experts, for aiding early diagnosis and optimizing the management of LC in the UAE.
Highlights
Lung cancer (LC) continues to be the single leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide [1]
Inadequate communication between primary care physicians (PCPs) and lung cancer (LC) specialists, inaccessibility to specialists, and lack of guidance regarding the referral pathway severely hamper the outcomes of patients with LC
The results revealed that 58.6% of the screening-detected cases were in the early stages (IA and IB)
Summary
Lung cancer (LC) continues to be the single leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide [1]. The excess risk is in the order of 20% to 30% for a nonsmoker married to a smoker Risk factors such as genetic susceptibility, advanced age (55 to 74 years), poor diet, indoor and outdoor air pollution, occupational exposure to carcinogens (such as asbestos, silica, radon, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ionizing radiation), and chronic lung inflammation may act independently or in association with tobacco smoking to increase the risk of LC [9,10]. The use of tobacco as well as the incidence of LC has been steadily increasing in the MENA region, including the UAE [1].
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