The use of surgical methods in lung cancer staging and its impact on selection of treatment in 100 patients with lung cancer in imam khomeini hospital of tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objective: Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer and is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer after prostate in men and breast cancer in women. Most patients in stages I and II are curable via surgical resection; however, in stage III, surgery alone plays a partial role. Stages III and IV of lung cancer are treated via a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Staging has a very important role in determination of disease extension and in deciding upon the kind of treatment. The aim of this study was to find out the effect of surgical method on lung cancer staging and its impact on selection of the type of treatment. Materials and Methods: In this case series study 100 hospitalized patients in the thorax ward of Tabriz Imam Khomeini Hospital were diagnosed with lung cancer and were studied for two years. In the first place, a precise history was taken from all of them. The patients were examined thoroughly and all of the symptoms and signs were recorded. Paraclinical studies were started with chest X ray. Calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase were checked. Next CT scan of thorax was carried out. Mediastinoscopy, Mediastinotomy, Thoracoscopy, Thoracotomy, cervical lymph node biopsy or pleural fluid tap for precise staging were performed, if indicated. After recording all the results in a questionnaire, the most appropriate decisions with regard to the treatment of the disease were made. Results: In this study, 67 patients (67%) were male and 33 (33%) were female. Staging of lung cancer was done by surgical and non surgical methods. Different stages of the disease were found to be SIA 3%, SIB 25%, SIIA 1%, SIIB 7%, SIIIA 15%, SIIIB 23%, and SIV 26%. Conclusion: In this study, the use of surgical methods played a major role in exact staging of lung cancer. This study showed that the use of surgical methods improves the accuracy of the staging and therefore can extremely affect the kind of treatment in patients with lung cancer. © Zanjan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services. All rights reserved.