Paappanen Ville, Tikka Jenny, Jukkola Arja, Klaavuniemi Tuula, Sailas Liisa, Tengström Maria, Kuitunen Hanne, Riekkinen Teemu, Tiainen Satu, Kuittinen Outi
Faculty of Health Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Department of Oncology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Acta Oncol. 2025 Jul 23;64:909-916. doi: 10.2340/1651-226X.2025.43398.
Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and is associated with high mortality. In Finland, overall lung cancer survival is lower than in other Nordic countries. A recent Finnish Cancer Registry publication reported that only 11.8% of patients underwent surgery. We aimed to assess whether operability and surgical outcomes contribute to Finland's inferior lung cancer survival rates.
This retrospective study analysed patient data of five Finnish hospital databases. We focused on potentially operable patients, specifically those with non-small cell lung cancer in stage I-IIIA according to computer tomography. A total of 156 patients met the staging criteria, of whom 77 underwent surgery. Among potentially operable patients, 50.6% were deemed ineligible for surgery due to various factors, including poor pulmonary or cardiac function, comorbidities, or localised tumour spread.
In our material 156 out of 545 were potentially operable and 77 were operated. 2-year overall survival for operated patients was 79%.
We found that patients with lung cancer in Finland present with poorer overall health, a slightly more advanced stage distribution among potentially operable cases, and a lower overall rate of surgical treatment compared to other Nordic countries. Additionally, patients in Finland tend to undergo surgery at more advanced stages. These factors likely contribute to Finland's lower lung cancer survival rates. This study underscores that delayed diagnosis and a lower proportion of patients undergoing surgery may be key contributors to Finland's poorer treatment outcomes.
肺癌是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，死亡率很高。在芬兰，肺癌的总体生存率低于其他北欧国家。芬兰癌症登记处最近发表的一份报告称，只有11.8%的患者接受了手术。我们旨在评估可手术性和手术结果是否导致芬兰肺癌生存率较低。
这项回顾性研究分析了五个芬兰医院数据库中的患者数据。我们关注的是潜在可手术的患者，特别是根据计算机断层扫描处于I-IIIA期的非小细胞肺癌患者。共有156名患者符合分期标准，其中77人接受了手术。在潜在可手术的患者中，50.6%因各种因素被认为不适合手术，这些因素包括肺或心脏功能差、合并症或局部肿瘤扩散。
在我们的研究材料中，545名患者中有156名潜在可手术，77名接受了手术。接受手术患者的2年总生存率为79%。
我们发现，与其他北欧国家相比，芬兰的肺癌患者总体健康状况较差，潜在可手术病例的分期分布略晚，手术治疗的总体比例较低。此外，芬兰的患者倾向于在更晚的阶段接受手术。这些因素可能导致芬兰肺癌生存率较低。这项研究强调，诊断延迟和接受手术的患者比例较低可能是芬兰治疗效果较差的关键因素。
