Abstract
Among 200 cases of lung cancer treated in our department during the past 10 years, 47 cases (23.5%) having a diseased period of more than 6 months were evaluated clinically.
The reason for the delay of the established diagnosis was present in patient's side in 23.4% of cases, in doctor's side in 70.2% of cases and in examiner's side in 6.4% of cases;demonstrating a very high percentage of iatrogenic factor. The 5-year-survival rate was 18.9% as a whole and 26.5% in the control group with no significant difference between these two groups. The most influential factor on the prognosis was the degree of radical operation, while the length of the disease did not directly affect the prognosis. However, when initial symptoms were compared to these noted at the time of the established diagnosis with respect to individual patients, 40% or more were aggravated at the time of the established diagnosis, which distinctly means that many patients miss an opportunity of receiving appropriate operation because of advanced conditions.
In the future, it is thus required to make every effort to at least avoid the iatrogenic factor, i. e., “delay of the established diagnosis”, and to enlighten and educate the general public about the importance of an easy detection for preventing lung cancer.
