Clinical Manifestation and Survival of Primary Lung cancer Patients in Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital

Abstract

          Objective: To study clinical presentation, chest imaging finding, histological data, treatment and survival of patients with primary lung cancer. Patients and Method: This retrospective study was conducted in Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital between October 1,2007 to September 30,2008. One hundred and seventy patients with histologically proven lung cancer during the study period were enrolled. Data analysis was done using STATA11.0 and survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curve. Results: There were 121 (71%) men and 49 (29%) women with a mean age of 60 years. Smoking history was found in 73% of patients. The common symptoms were cough (75%), weight loss (38%) and dyspnea (35%) with a mean duration of 2.7 months. The radiological findings of the chest were mass lesion in 133 cases (78%). Pleural effusion in 29 cases (17%) and pulmonary infiltrate in 4 cases (2%). One hundred and fifty-eight patients (92%) had histopathology of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the NSCLC group, adenocarcinoma was the commonest histological subtype. Most of the patients (88%) presented in the advanced stage. The 1-year survival rate for advanced-stage patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy was 52%, compared with 23% for patient receiving supportive. Conclusion: Since most patients are not diagnosed until the late stages of the disease, lung cancer is associated with poor low survival rates. Platinum-based chemotherapy improves survival in advanced-stage lung cancer.