Comparison of demographics, pathology and treatment of lung cancer in Teesside and Varese in the 2010 cohort
| Teesside | Varese | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Cohort | 2010 Cohort | ||
| Patients with LC, n | 324 | 260 | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 71 (10) | 70 (10) | 0.175 |
| Male/female (ratio) | 169/155 (1.09) | 198/62 (3.19) | <0.001 |
| Risk factors | |||
| Median pack/years | 40a | 40b | 0.175 |
| Occupational risk (%)* | 96/284 (34%) | 69/256 (27%) | 0.084 |
| Comorbidity, n patients (%) | 238/320 (74%) | 177/260 (68%) | 0.095 |
| FEV1 as % of predicted (SD) | 67% (23)c | 82% (19)d | <0.001 |
| Performance status 0–1 | 57% | 84% | <0.001 |
| Performance status 2–4 | 43% | 16% | |
| Source of referral to LC specialist | |||
| General practitioner, urgent/emergency | 122/324 (38%) | 103/260 (40%) | 0.629 |
| General practitioner, 2-week rule/routine | 163/324 (50%) | 44/260 (17%) | <0.001 |
| Other consultant | 39/324 (12%) | 111/260 (43%) | <0.001 |
| Chest X-ray screening | 0/324 (0%) | 2/260 (1%) | 0.385† |
| Mode of presentation | |||
| Asymptomatic diagnosis, by incidental imaging | 24/324 (7%) | 64/260 (25%) | <0.001 |
| Diagnosis by symptoms | 300/324 (93%) | 196/260 (75%) | |
| Histologically confirmed cases, n (%) | 233 (72%) | 216 (83%) | 0.001 |
| Adenocarcinoma, n (%) | 72 (31%)‡ | 109 (50%)‡ | <0.001 |
| Squamous cell carcinoma, n (%) | 67 (29%)‡ | 72 (33%)‡ | 0.294 |
| Large cell carcinoma, n (%) | 20 (9%)‡ | 5 (2%)‡ | 0.004 |
| Unspecif. non-small cell carcinoma, n (%) | 40 (17%)‡ | 3 (1%)‡ | <0.001 |
| SCLC, n (%) | 34 (15%)‡ | 27 (13%)‡ | 0.518 |
| Total of NSCLC | 199 (61%) | 189 (73%) | 0.004 |
| NSCLC by stage**§ | |||
| Stage I–II | 40 (12%) | 49 (19%) | 0.030 |
| Stage III–IV | 159 (49%) | 138 (53%) | 0.336 |
| Treatment | |||
| No active cancer treatment | 110 (34%) | 64 (25%) | 0.014 |
| Radical radiotherapy (≥50 Gy) | 24 (7%) | 1 (0.5%) | <0.001 |
| Palliative radiotherapy | 48 (15%) | 27 (10%) | 0.112 |
| Chemotherapy | 51 (16%) | 81 (31%) | <0.001 |
| Radiotherapy+chemotherapy | 54 (17%) | 23 (9%) | 0.005 |
| Other active treatment | 1 (0%) | 1 (0.5%) | 0.560† |
| Surgical resection¶ | |||
| All lung cancers | 36/324 (11%) | 63/260 (24%) | <0.001 |
| NSCLC | 36/199 (18%) | 63/189 (33%) | <0.001 |
| Stage I–II NSCLC | 27/40 (67%) | 43/49 (88%) | 0.020 |
| Stage IIIA NSCLC | 5/47 (11%) | 13/39 (33%) | 0.010 |
| Symptomatic LCs | 29/300 (10%) | 27/196 (14%) | 0.205 |
Number of missing cases: a 46; b 37; c 114; d 120.
*Occupations and industries that are known or suspected to be associated with LC.
†Yates’ p value.
‡% of all staged, histologically confirmed cases only.
§Not available: two patients in Varese.
¶All surgeries performed with curative intent, including cases undergoing induction chemotherapy or adjuvant chemo/radiotherapy.
LC, lung cancer; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancers (including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma and unspecified NSCLC); SCLC, small cell lung cancer.