Epidemiology of Lung Cancer in Spain and Forecast for the Future

Risk Factors for Short-Term Lung Cancer Survival

Background: Lung cancer is typically diagnosed in an advanced phase of its natural history. Explanatory models based on epidemiological and clinical variables provide an approximation of patient survival less than one year using information extracted from the case history only, whereas models involving therapeutic variables must confirm that any treatment applied is worse than surgery in survival terms. Models for classifying less than one year survival for patients diagnosed with lung cancer which are able to identify risk factors and quantify their effect for prognosis are analyzed. Method: Two stepwise binary logistic regression models, based on a retrospective study of 521 cases of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in the Interventional Pneumology Unit at the Hospital “Virgen de las Nieves”, Granada, Spain. Results: The first model included variables age, history of pulmonary neoplasm, tumor location, dyspnea, dysphonia, and chest pain. The independent risk factors age greater than 70 years, a peripheral location, dyspnea and dysphonia were significant. For the second model, treatments were also significant. Conclusions: Age, history of pulmonary neoplasm, tumor location, dyspnea, dysphonia, and chest pain are predictors for survival in patients diagnosed with lung cancer at the time of diagnosis. The treatment applied is significant for classifying less than one year survival time which confirms that any treatment is markedly inferior to surgery in terms of survival. This allows to consider applications of more or less aggressive treatments, anticipation of palliative cares or comfort measures, inclusion in clinical trials, etc.

Cough in Patients With Lung Cancer: A Longitudinal Observational Study of Characterization and Clinical Associations

BACKGROUND

Cough is common in patients with lung cancer, and current antitussive treatments are suboptimal. There are little published data describing cough in patients with lung cancer or work assessing clinical associations. The aim of this study is to fill that gap.

METHODS

This was a longitudinal prospective observational single-cohort study over 60 days. Patients were assessed through self-reported validated scales and, in a subsample, ambulatory cough monitoring at study entry (day 0), day 30, and day 60.

RESULTS

At study entry, 177 patients were included and 153 provided data at day 60. The median duration of cough was 52 weeks (interquartile range, 8.5-260). Cough was described as severe enough to warrant treatment in 62% of the patients. Depending on the scale used, performance status was associated with both cough severity and cough impact (P < .001) at study entry, whereas higher cough severity at study entry was associated with female sex (P = .02), asthma (P = .035), and reflux disease (P < .001). Cough impact at study entry was additionally associated with experiencing nausea (P = .018). Cancer characteristics (ie, cancer stage, histology) were not associated with cough severity nor cough impact; neither was smoking or COPD.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to describe characteristics of cough in patients with lung cancer and to identify clinical associations that may be relevant for its treatment. Our data suggest that cough is a frequent and distressing symptom and an unmet clinical need. Its association with gastrointestinal symptoms in this study may improve our understanding of pathophysiology and therapeutic options for cough occurring in patients with lung cancer.

[Survival of lung cancer patients treated at a referral hospital in Zaragoza (Spain)]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this work is to study the survival of lung cancer patients treated at a referral hospital in Zaragoza (Spain).

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The Kaplan-Meier test was used to calculate observed survival. The automatic calculation of the Catalan Institute of Oncology was used to analyse relative survival.

RESULTS

Mean survival time was 25.74 months. There was no difference when comparing age groups (P=.151), gender (P=.369), and histological type of tumour (P=.086). Survival by stage of the disease at diagnosis revealed statistically significant differences (P<.001). Relative survival 5 years after diagnosis for the group analysed was 14%. Survival was higher for men (15.5%), in patients under 60 (16.7%) and squamous tumours (18.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Survival by tumour stage was in line with the TNM Staging System for Lung Cancer. These results suggest that overall survival rate for lung cancer in Zaragoza remains very low in the long term, and this depends on the stage of the disease at diagnosis.

Gender differences in lung cancer mortality trends in Andalusia 1975-2008: a joinpoint regression analysis

Death rates from lung cancer in men are higher in Andalusia than in other Spanish regions. This study describes lung cancer mortality rates and their trends in Andalusia from 1975 through 2008. Data on lung cancer mortality were obtained from the Death Registry of Andalusia. For each gender, age group-specific and standardized (overall and truncated) rates were calculated by the direct method using the world standard population. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to identify points where a significant change in trends occurred. In men, short-term trends for age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) declined significantly from 2004 through 2008 for each age group < 80 years old. In women, the segmented joinpoint analysis showed a decrease from 1975 through 1998 in ASMRs (overall) (-0.6%, P < 0.05), followed by a marked increase (4.6%, P < 0.05). A decrease in male versus female mortality due to lung cancer is evident in Andalusia (Spain).

Cost-effectiveness analysis of pemetrexed versus docetaxel in the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in Spain: results for the non-squamous histology population

Background

The objective of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness evaluation of pemetrexed compared to docetaxel in the treatment of advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for patients with predominantly non-squamous histology in the Spanish healthcare setting.

Methods

A Markov model was designed consisting of stable, responsive, progressive disease and death states. Patients could also experience adverse events as long as they received chemotherapy. Clinical inputs were based on an analysis of a phase III clinical trial that identified a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for non-squamous patients treated with pemetrexed compared with docetaxel. Costs were collected from the Spanish healthcare perspective.

Results

Outcomes of the model included total costs, total quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), total life years gained (LYG) and total progression-free survival (PFS). Mean survival was 1.03 years for the pemetrexed arm and 0.89 years in the docetaxel arm; QALYs were 0.52 compared to 0.42. Per-patient lifetime costs were € 34677 and € 32343, respectively. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were € 23967 per QALY gained and € 17225 per LYG.

Conclusions

Pemetrexed as a second-line treatment option for patients with a predominantly non-squamous histology in NSCLC is a cost-effective alternative to docetaxel according to the € 30000/QALY threshold commonly accepted in Spain.

Spatio-temporal evolution of female lung cancer mortality in a region of Spain, is it worth taking migration into account?

Background

The Comunitat Valenciana (CV) is a tourist region on the Mediterranean coast of Spain with a high rate of retirement migration. Lung cancer in women is the cancer mortality cause that has increased most in the CV during the period 1991 to 2000. Moreover, the geographical distribution of risk from this cause in the CV has been previously described and a non-homogenous pattern was determined. The present paper studies the spatio-temporal distribution of lung cancer mortality for women in the CV during the period 1987–2004, in order to gain some insight into the factors, such as migration, that have had an influence on these changes.

Methods

A novel methodology, consisting of a Bayesian hierarchical model, is used in this paper. Such a model allows the handling of data with a very high disaggregation, while at the same time taking advantage of its spatial and temporal structure.

Results

The spatio-temporal pattern which was found points to geographical differences in the time trends of risk. In fact, the southern coastal side of the CV has had a higher increase in risk, coinciding with the settlement of a large foreign community in that area, mainly comprised of elderly people from the European Union.

Conclusion

Migration has frequently been ignored as a risk factor in the description of the geographical risk of lung cancer and it is suggested that this factor should be considered, especially in tourist regions. The temporal component in disease mapping provides a more accurate depiction of risk factors acting on the population.

The side of pneumonectomy influences long-term survival in stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The impact of pneumonectomy as an independent factor on long-term survival after lung resection for centrally or locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. The aim of this paper is to study the impact of pneumonectomy, and the influence of side of surgery, on long-term survival in patients with pathologic stage I and II NSCLC.

METHODS

A retrospective review of a prospective multi-institutional database of patients operated on for lung cancer was undertaken. In all, 1,475 patients with pathologic stage I or II NSCLC were studied (421 underwent pneumonectomy; 1,054 had a lobectomy/bilobectomy). Survival and impact of side of surgery for pneumonectomy and lesser resection groups were analyzed and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

Median survival was worse after pneumonectomy than after less extensive resections for patients overall (33 versus 57 months) and for those with stage I NSCLC (38 versus 70 months); however, median survival was better after pneumonectomy for stage II left tumors (55 versus 19 months). Pneumonectomy was an independent adverse determinant of survival for both stage I right tumors (p < 0.001) and stage I left tumors (p < 0.001), but was associated with improved survival for stage II left tumors (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

Pneumonectomy was found to be an independent determinant of survival in patients with stage I and II NSCLC, but results differed for right- and left-sided tumors. Further studies of survival comparing pneumonectomy with lesser resections should differentiate between right and left procedures.

Prevalence and determinants of adolescent tobacco smoking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Tobacco smoking is a growing public health problem in the developing world. There is paucity of data on smoking and predictors of smoking among school-going adolescents in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Hence, the aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of smoking and its associations among school-going adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

METHODS

Data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2003 were used to determine smoking prevalence, determinants, attitudes to, and exposure to tobacco advertisements among adolescents.

RESULTS

Of the 1868 respondents, 4.5% males and 1% females reported being current smokers (p < 0.01). Having smoking friends was strongly associated with smoking after controlling for age, gender, parental smoking status, and perception of risks of smoking (OR = 33; 95% CI [11.6, 95.6]). Male gender and having one or both smoking parents were associated with smoking. Perception that smoking is harmful was negatively associated with being a smoker (odds ratio 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-0.5)

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of smoking among adolescents in Ethiopia is lower than in many other African countries. There is however need to strengthen anti-tobacco messages especially among adolescents.