SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS AFTER RESECTION FOR LUNG-CANCER - PREDICTIVE VALUE OF STAGING BY CT VS THORACOTOMY

Purpose. The predictive value of staging of primary lung cancer by CT and thoracotomy with respect to survival was assessed in a series of 151 consecutive patients. Material and Methods: The new international staging system for lung cancer was used, with an additional indeterminate stage employed for cases in which a definite classification was impossible by CT. Results: The survival rate curves for the stage groups assessed at CT and thoracotomy showed moderate to good parallelism. The patients with tumor stage I at thoracotomy but indeterminate or IIIa at CT had a significantly lower survival rate than those scored stage I at both. It was concluded that a sign of tumor spread obtained at any of the investigations should lead to an active approach, increasing the radicality of surgery or omitting noncurative operations.