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RESEARCH PAPER
Bottlenecks in lung cancer diagnostics cause poorer prognosis in this cancer – experience of a single oncology centre
1
Department of Pneumonology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Corresponding author
Karolina Nalewaj
Department of Pneumonology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-090, Lublin, Poland
Department of Pneumonology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-090, Lublin, Poland
KEYWORDS
lung cancerantibioticsdelayslung cancer diagnosispulmonary infection and delayed cancer diagnosisrole of GPs in lung cancer diagnosislung cancer symptomsNSLCprimary care
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction and objective:
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of death from malignant tumours worldwide. Delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer in primary and specialist health care result in a high stage of the disease, lack of possibility of radical treatment, and the shortening of the life expectancy of patients. The aim of the study is to determine factors contributing to delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer in patients in the Lublin Province in south-east Poland. The study focuses on factors that influence the overall survival of patients.
Material and methods:
An anonymous survey was conducted among 249 patients diagnosed with lung cancer. 150 of the hospitalized patients were men (60.24%) and 99 women (39.76%). Data analysis was performed using Statistica software.
Results:
The average time from the first symptoms to diagnosis was 13.5 weeks. Patients with respiratory infections and treated with antibiotics up to 6 months before diagnosis experienced a significantly (p<0.00001) longer wait to final diagnosis. The median survival time for all patients was 25.7 months. A long time from first symptoms to diagnosis had a significant (p=0.046) impact on the estimated survival time.
Conclusions:
The results of the study showed that delays in the diagnosis of patients with lung cancer hospitalized in the Lublin Province were significant and contributed to shortening the survival time. It is necessary to introduce an algorithm for the diagnosis path of patients with symptoms of lung cancer
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of death from malignant tumours worldwide. Delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer in primary and specialist health care result in a high stage of the disease, lack of possibility of radical treatment, and the shortening of the life expectancy of patients. The aim of the study is to determine factors contributing to delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer in patients in the Lublin Province in south-east Poland. The study focuses on factors that influence the overall survival of patients.
Material and methods:
An anonymous survey was conducted among 249 patients diagnosed with lung cancer. 150 of the hospitalized patients were men (60.24%) and 99 women (39.76%). Data analysis was performed using Statistica software.
Results:
The average time from the first symptoms to diagnosis was 13.5 weeks. Patients with respiratory infections and treated with antibiotics up to 6 months before diagnosis experienced a significantly (p<0.00001) longer wait to final diagnosis. The median survival time for all patients was 25.7 months. A long time from first symptoms to diagnosis had a significant (p=0.046) impact on the estimated survival time.
Conclusions:
The results of the study showed that delays in the diagnosis of patients with lung cancer hospitalized in the Lublin Province were significant and contributed to shortening the survival time. It is necessary to introduce an algorithm for the diagnosis path of patients with symptoms of lung cancer
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| eISSN: | 1898-2263 |
| ISSN: | 1232-1966 |
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