Further Classification of Lung Cancer may Better Predict Sur

[Elaine]

Further Classification of Lung Cancer may Better Predict Survival

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new system of subcategorizing tumors in lung cancer patients may predict survival better than the current system of classification, according to a new study.

The current system classifies stage I tumors as either stage IA (smaller than three centimeters) or stage IB (larger than three centimeters). While past studies have shown differences in patient survival rates between these two groups, researchers now recognize a statistically significant difference in survival rates among patients with tumors smaller than three centimeters.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York evaluated data on 7,620 individuals with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

The researchers note over 12 years, cure rates for stage IA lung cancer increased as tumor size decreased. People with the smallest tumors, five millimeters to 15 millimeters in diameter, had the highest cure rate at 69 percent. Those with the largest tumors, over 45 mm, had a 43-percent cure rate.

The authors conclude, "Smaller tumor size at diagnosis is associated with improved curability within stage I non-small cell lung cancers. These results suggest that further subclassification by size within stage I may be important."