Survival in lung cancer patients increases to 92% of cases 10 years after diagnosis, if annual preventive CT scans with leave radiation doses are performed. This is the result of the International Lung Cancer Early Detection Study (IELCAP) in which the only Spanish centers participating are the University Clinic and the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra.

The research has been carried out over the last ten years on more than 31,000 smokers over 40 years of age. Experts from more than 40 medical centers in countries such as the USA, Spain, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Israel, Canada and China participated in the work study. The conclusions were recently published in the prestigious NewEngland Journal of Medicine.

Of the 31,000 people studied, lung cancer was diagnosed in 484 cases, 85% of them in stage I, the earliest stage, according to Dr. Javier Zulueta Francés, director of department of Pneumology at the University Clinic of the University of Navarra. Of the patients diagnosed with stage I cancer, 88% survive more than 10 years. The survival rate increases to 92% when surgical treatment is started within one month of diagnosis.

The cancer with the worst prognosis

The finding is especially relevant because lung cancer is currently the most common oncological pathology and the one with the worst prognosis, with a maximum survival rate of 15% five years after diagnosis. The reason why the survival rate is so low is due to the fact that currently "when the patient goes to enquiry the disease is already at a very advanced stage," assures Dr. Zulueta.

However, the average diameter of the tumors detected in the group risk group studied by the IELCAP ranges between 9 and 13 mm. This is the earliest stage that can currently be observed. Likewise, the CIMA of the University of Navarra is looking for molecular markers of lung cancer risk and is investigating the existence of biomarkers that warn of the presence of cancer even before the lesion can be observed by means of a thoracic CT scan or other radiological technique.

Economic Costs

The preliminary studies performed indicate that the relationship between the cost and the effectiveness of the diagnosis is positive when "the economic cost of the lung cancer treatment in early phases is much more inexpensive than when encountered in advanced phases," claims Dr. Zulueta. Therefore, according to this international research project, it is evident that medical authorities and public health experts must attack the problem of early detection of lung cancer in the at-risk population.

Dr. Zulueta, along with Dr. Luis Montuenga Badía -director of the Area of Oncology of the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra- and Dr. Gorka Bastarrika Aleman -a specialist from the Department of Radiology of the University Hospital- have directed the research project in Spain. Specialists from several other departments of the University Hospital participated in the study, including Thoracic Surgery, Internal Medicine, Radiology, Neurology, Nuclear Medicine, Anatomical Pathology and Oncology.
Of the 31,000 people studied, lung cancer was diagnosed in 484 cases, 85% of them in stage I, the earliest stage, according to Dr. Javier Zulueta Francés, director of department of Pneumology at the University Clinic of the University of Navarra. Of the patients diagnosed with stage I cancer, 88% survive more than 10 years. The survival rate increases to 92% when surgical treatment is started within one month of diagnosis.