Study shows: Early lung cancer detection saves life in London!

Study shows: Early lung cancer detection saves life in London!

A current study, published in the renowned journal lancet oncology , highlights the successful early detection of lung cancer in London. During an examination of 12,733 people, it was found that lung cancer was diagnosed for every 50th smokers in poorer districts. The results show that 80% of the cases diagnosed in the early stage I or II were possible, where a healing is possible, such as the Kleine Zeitung reported.

A total of 618 of the examined persons (4.8%) had suspicious nodes in the CT, and lung carcinoma was diagnosed in 261 of them (42.2%). In addition, 15 other cancer were found in these patients. It is particularly noteworthy that 207 of the 261 carcinomas (79.3%) were recognized in the curable stages I or II.

Current situation in Austria

In Austria, around 5,000 lung cancer are diagnosed annually, which results in around 4,000 deaths. In comparison, only 25% of lung carcinomas in Austria are recognized in the curable stage I and II. The figures show that 27% of cases in the advanced stage III and 47% are diagnosed in stage IV. This alarming situation has prompted experts to request a lung cancer screening program using a low-dose-CT.

The best results are achieved by an annual examination of smokers from 55 years. The five-year survival rate for lung cancer in stage I is an impressive 80%, while it drops to only 5-10% in stage IV. In Germany, the proportion of lung cancer diagnosed in stage I and II was increased from 24% to 80% by an early detection program.

long -term trends and risk factors

In 2022, around 56,577 people in Germany are ill with malignant tumors of the lungs, including 23,655 women and 32,922 men. The death rates were in 18,349 women and 26,614 men. Smoking remains the main risk factor for lung cancer, whereby up to 90% of cases in men and at least 60% of women are due to active smoking. In addition, passive smoking and exposure to carcinogenic substances such as asbestos also increased the risk.

The data on the age -standardized new disease rate show that women and men have different trends: While the rates are declining in men, they continuously increase in women, which is due to changed smoking habits. The histological types of lung cancer show clear differences in the prognosis; For example, adenocarcinomas make up 44% of cases, followed by squamous epithelial carcinoma with about 21% and the small cell bronchial carcinoma, which has the worst forecast.

Although there is currently no suitable method for the early detection of lung cancer for the entire population, various studies show that early examinations could possibly be recommended using low-dose computer tomography. The debate about effective screening programs remains current and of great importance for health care in the affected regions. Further information on the disease can be found on Cancer data.