Abstract
We studied the factors involved in the long-term survival (more than 10 years) of 640 patients with lung cancer resected between 1965 and 1984. The results showed 134 patients who survived more than 10 years after surgery (10-year survival rate : 22.0%). Sixty four of the 305 patients with adenocarcinoma survived more than 10 years (22.3%), and likewise 46 of the 239 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (19.9%) survived. The 10-year survival rate was lower in patients with more advanced stages : 43.1% for stage I, 24.9% for stage II, 10.9% for stage III, and 2.8% for stage IV. The 10-year survival rate was 24.2% (89 of 368 patients) for the period 1975-1984, better than 16.5% (45 of 272 patients) (p<0.05) shown by the former period (1965-1974). One reason for the improvement was not accounted for by any difference in histological type, but rather by the higher incidence of stage I cases that occurred during the period from 1975 to 1984. The ratio of women with stage I who survived more than 10 years was higher than that of the average of all cases in stage I (p<0.025), and a chi-square value was statistically significant in surviving for more than 10 years between patients of less than 65 years and 65 or more (p<0.001). In measuring tumor factors, there was no difference in the prognosis between patients with adenocarcinoma and those with squamous cell carcinoma. However, the results showed more long term survivors with stage I adenocarcinoma than those with stage I squamous cell carcinoma (p<0.05).
