Delaying lung cancer surgery associated with higher risk of recurrence, death: study

CHICAGO, May 28 — A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that delaying lung cancer surgery for more than 12 weeks from the date of diagnosis with a CT scan is associated with a higher risk of recurrence and death.
For the study, the researchers analyzed de-identified medical records in a database maintained by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration, the nation’s largest integrated health-care delivery system. The researchers examined information involving 9,904 patients with stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer who underwent surgery from October 2006 through September 2016. The average age of the predominantly male patients was 67.
Among the patients, the majority 70 percent underwent surgical treatment within the 12-week time frame, while about 30 percent of patients experienced delays. On average, patients who received surgery within the 12-week span lived 7.5 months longer than those who did not, which is 76.1 months compared with 68.6 months.
Researchers detected recurrence in 4,158 or 42 percent patients during the study’s follow-up period six years after surgery. Recurrence was more likely to occur in patients who had postponed surgery. In addition, for each week of delay, the risk of recurrence increased, although modestly, the researchers said.
The researchers also noted that the data indicated surgical delays were more likely in Black patients than in white patients. They plan to continue research into racial disparities and other aspects of surgical delays.
Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer in the United States and the country’s leading cause of cancer deaths. Non-small cell lung cancer comprises 84 percent of all lung cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society, and the overall five-year survival rate is 25 percent.
The findings were published Thursday in JAMA Network Open. (Xinhua)