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Chest clinic
Audit update
Population-based trends in use of surgery for non-small cell lung cancer in a UK region, 1995–2006
  1. Michael McMahon1,2,
  2. Josephine M Barbiere1,
  3. David C Greenberg3,
  4. Karen A Wright3,
  5. Georgios Lyratzopoulos1
  1. 1Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, UK
  2. 2Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
  3. 3Eastern Cancer Registration and Information Centre, Shelford Bottom, Cambridge, UK
  1. Correspondence to Georgios Lyratzopoulos, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK; gl290{at}medschl.cam.ac.uk

Abstract

Objective To assess time trends in use of surgery in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a UK region.

Methods Cancer registration data for patients diagnosed with NSCLC between 1995 and 2006 in the East of England were analysed. Rates of surgery use for different age, gender, diagnosis period, tumour subtype and deprivation quintile groups were examined.

Results The analysis included 18 767 patients with NSCLC. During the study period, 13% of patients were treated by surgery. Use of surgery decreased over time from 15% in 1995–1997 to 11% in 2004–2006 (p=0.022). Initial socioeconomic differences in surgery use narrowed significantly over time (p=0.028) and became non-apparent at the end of the study period.

Conclusions Use of surgery in patients with NSCLC decreased during the study period, possibly reflecting increasing quality of preoperative staging processes. Initial socioeconomic inequalities in surgery use became undetectable at the end of the study period. The findings provide baseline information to support comparisons with patterns of clinical management in more recent years.

  • Lung
  • non-small cell
  • cancer
  • surgery
  • Radiotherapy
  • socioeconomic
  • status
  • deprivation
  • inequalities
  • disparities

https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-200039

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    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.