Many new surgical, radiation, and chemotherapeutic modalities mean that lung cancer is a treatable disease.
The major problem is that many people are diagnosed in late stage disease. New data and analysis of old data should lead to greater acceptance of the benefits of early diagnosis.1-2
It's critical to work toward better diagnostic procedures to ensure that more people receive potentially curative, rather than palliative, treatment.
Because lung cancer today is most commonly diagnosed in the late stages of the disease (Stages 3 and 4), treatment is rarely curative. Benefits of treatment at these stages include improved quality of life and prolongation of life.
1 Strauss GM. Measuring effectiveness of lung cancer screening: from consensus to controversy and back. Chest. 1997;112(9):1S-11S.
2 Strauss G. Screening for lung cancer: another look; a different view. Chest. 1997;111:754-768. |
