 |
Vol.48 No.3 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (581K) Article in Japanese |
- Original Article -
Unevenness of Screening Intervals in Annual Repeated Lung Cancer Screening
Susumu Sasano1, Yoko Torii11Department of Respirology, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Cancer Detection Center, Japan
Objective. We investigated the unevenness of screening intervals in annual repeated lung cancer screening. Methods. We performed lung cancer screening with chest X-ray and sputum cytology on behalf of 10 municipalities in 2006. Among 5,304 people aged 40 to 79 years, there were 2,307 receiving annual repeated examinations, and these participants were studied. We checked the annual schedules of lung cancer screening in the 10 municipalities, and classified municipalities into several types by the annual frequency of lung cancer screening. Then we calculated the screening intervals of all annual repeated participants, and surveyed the unevenness of screening intervals in each frequency type. Results. There were 2 high frequency type municipalities, 2 in the 12 times a year type, 2 in the 4 times a year type, 3 in the twice a year type and 1 in the once a year type. As a result of total count, the shortest screening interval was 130 days, the longest screening interval was 665 days and those with an interval of 351-380 days accounted for 46.8%. The unevenness of screening intervals was remarkable. In municipality A, classified as a high frequency type, the shortest screening interval was 295 days, the longest screening interval was 606 days and the 351-380 days interval accounted for 49.1%. In municipality B, also classified as a high frequency type, the shortest screening interval was 130 days, the longest screening interval was 528 days and the 351-380 days interval accounted for 28.0%. The unevenness of screening intervals in municipalities A and B was remarkable. In municipality C, classified as a 12 times a year type, the shortest screening interval was 182 days, the longest screening interval was 665 days and the 351-380 days group was 31.2%. The unevenness of screening intervals in municipality C was also remarkable. In municipality E, classified as a 4 times a year type, the shortest screening interval was 229 days, the longest screening interval was 524 days and 68.5% of subjects had an interval of 351-380 days. In municipality G, classified as a twice a year type, the shortest screening interval was 235 days, the longest screening interval was 494 days and the 351-380 days group accounted for 66.4%. Unevenness with several small peaks was seen in E and G municipalities. In municipality J, classified as a once a year type, all subjects fitted in the 351-380 days interval. Conclusion. The unevenness of screening intervals in annual repeated lung cancer screening was remarkable. Municipalities must take into account that screening intervals in annual repeated lung cancer screening should be about 365 days, when planning a screening schedule or encouraging annual repeated screening.
key words: Lung cancer screening, Lung cancer, Annual repeated screening, Screening intervals
Received: November 26, 2007
Accepted: February 13, 2008
JJLC 48 (3): 171-175, 2008
