Survival in lung cancer.

Analysis was carried out according to stage and tissue type of 392 consecutive cases of lung cancer diagnosed at David Grant Medical Center between 1960 and 1974. Biphasic survival curves were described with a variable primary phase and a constant (1.1 percent per month) secondary phase. Survival was found to correlate both to histology and stage. The best survival was found in stage I bronchoalveolar carcinoma. Even in the more favorable categories a leveling off of survival was not found. This study strongly suggests that surgical treatment of lung cancer, while beneficial, cannot expect to be considered as a curative procedure in more than 10 percent of cases. Radiotherapy did not prolong survival.