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Vol.41 No.3 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Original Article -
Lower Lung Cancer Mortality Rate in Takatsuki-city and Shimamoto-cho: Apparent Association With Educational Benefits of a Clinic-Based Lung Cancer Screening Program
Yasuki Fukuda, Isao Goto, Nobuhiko Seki, Shigeru Akutagawa, Yuri Suzuki, Takahiko Oue, Yasuhito Fujisaka, Kyon-Yob Min, Toshiaki Hanafusa and Nakaaki Ohsawa*First Department of Internal Medicine Osaka Medical College, *Aino Institute for Aging Research
Background: A clinic-based lung cancer screening (CBLCS) program may not only be useful to detect lung cancer in the early stage but also to give an opportunity to train doctors participating in the program in learning how to accomplish early detection themselves. This educational aspect might improve the prognosis of lung cancer patients in regions in which the program exists. Materials and Methods: To evaluate the improvement in prognosis for lung cancer patients from 1985 through 1996, we investigated the numbers of lung cancer deaths in a region [Takatsuki city and Shimamoto-cho (T/S region)] and compared it with the number in a control region [Ibaraki, Settsu, and Hirakata city (I/S/H region)]. Results: In the first half of the period, the mortality rate of lung cancer per 100,000 was equivalent (37.0 per 100,000) in the T/S region and in the I/S/H region (p=0.9787), but in the latter half of the period, the mortality rate was significantly lower in the T/S region (45.8 per 100,000) than in the I/S/H region (51.2 per 100,000) (p=0.0233). Discussion: In the T/S region, the CBLCS program began in 1988 and the program was established in 1991 when follow-up inquiry for final diagnoses of abnormal findings detected in the program was started. Our results suggest an improvement in prognosis for lung cancer patients in the T/S region after 1991. It is unlikely that treatment changes caused the decrease in regional mortality of lung cancer within a study period since new treatments for lung cancer have not been sufficiently developed to improve prognosis as a whole. The significant improvement in mortality rate in the study region was probably brought about by refinement and advancements in lung cancer detection techniques in medical facilities of the region. Conclusion: We conclude that the improvement in detection techniques was probably an indirect result of the educational aspects of the CBLCS program in the T/S region. This educational enlightenment of health care practitioners at regional medical facilities should be considered as one of the important goals of a CBLCS program.
key words: Lung cancer screening, Lung cancer mortality, Ecological study
Received: August 23, 2000
Accepted: May 7, 2001
JJLC 41 (3): 217-223, 2001
