Evaluation of the quick diagnosis and treatment program for lung cancer

Objective: To analyze the efficiency of the program of quick diagnosis and treatment (PDTR, programa de diagnostico y tratamiento rapido) of lung cancer established in the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau of Barcelona to review the epidemiology of lung cancer. Methods and materials: Fifty-eight patients with lung cancer were studied. Twenty-nine of them were included in the program between October 2005 and May 2006, and the remaining were randomly selected among those diagnosed the year before (control group). Time between first visit, diagnosis and treatment and other variables (age, sex, histological type and TNM stage) were compared between groups. Results: Significant differences were found between the two groups. PDTR patients had a mean time between first visit and treatment of 26.7 days (Standard Deviation [SD] = 13.6), whereas this was 84 days (SD = 53) in the control group. The PDTR group had a lower TNM stage, but statistical significance was only found in N (lymph node involvement) (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Most patients included in the PDTR program spend less than 30 days between first visit and treatment, which represents a significant reduction in time (p <0.001). The effect on prognosis is controversial and will need long term studies. (C) 2007 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.