The US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality and a 6.7% decrease in all-cause mortality. The NLST is the only trial showing positive results in a high-risk population, such as in patients with old age and heavy ever smokers. Lung cancer screening using a low-dose chest computed tomography might be beneficial for the high-risk group. However, there may also be potential adverse outcomes in terms of over diagnosis, bias and cost-effectiveness. Until now, lung cancer screening remains controversial. In this review, we wish to discuss the evolution of lung cancer screening and summarize existing evidences and recommendations.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Diagnosis ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Mass Screening* ; Mortality ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: The current study was undertaken to examine the trends in the lung cancer incidence, mortality, and survival after a diagnosis in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lung cancer incidence data according to the histologic type and mortality data were obtained from the Korea Central Cancer Registry and the Statistics Korea, respectively. The age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were calculated, and the Joinpoint model and age-period-cohort analyses were used to describe the trends in the rates. The 5-year relative survival rates of lung cancer were also calculated. RESULTS: Although the number of new lung cancer cases increased between 1999 and 2012, the age-standardized incidence rate decreased by 0.9% per year in men, whereas the incidence in women increased by 1.7% per year over the same time. Until 2010, the most common histologic type in men was squamous cell carcinoma, then adenocarcinoma prevailed thereafter. Since 1999, the most frequent histological type in women was adenocarcinoma. The lung cancer mortality started to decrease in 2002, with a more apparent decline for the younger age groups in both men and women. Overall, the 5-year relative survival rates have improved significantly from 11.2% for men and 14.7% for women among patients diagnosed between 1993 and 1997 to 19.3% for men and 28.2% for women among patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2012, respectively. An improvement in survival rate was observed for all major histology groups. CONCLUSION: The epidemiology of lung cancer in Korea has changed over a short time span, with decreasing mortality and improving survival rates. Further study is warranted to determine the cause of these changes.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Male ; Mortality ; Survival Rate

A prospective multicenter observational study was performed to investigate the epidemiology and outcomes of community-acquired severe sepsis and septic shock. Subjects included 1,192 adult patients admitted to the 22 participating intensive care units (ICUs) of 12 university hospitals in the Korean Sepsis Registry System from April, 2005 through February, 2009. Male accounted for 656 (55%) patients. Mean age was 65.0 +/- 14.2 yr. Septic shock developed in 740 (62.1%) patients. Bacteremia was present in 422 (35.4%) patients. The 28-day and in-hospital mortality rates were 23.0% and 28.0%, respectively. Men were more likely to have comorbid illnesses and acute organ dysfunctions, and had higher mortality and clinical severity compared to women. While respiratory sources of sepsis were common in men, urinary sources were predominant in women. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, cancer (odds ratio 1.89; 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.17), urinary tract infection (0.25; 0.13-0.46), APACHE II score (1.05; 1.02-1.09), SOFA score on day 1 (1.13; 1.06-1.21) and metabolic dysfunction (2.24, 1.45-3.45) were independent clinical factors for gender-related in-hospital mortality. This study provided epidemiological and clinical characteristics of community-acquired severe sepsis and septic shock in ICUs in Korea, and demonstrated the impact of clinical factors on gender difference in mortality.
APACHE ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bacteremia/epidemiology/microbiology ; Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/virology ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Logistic Models ; Lung Diseases/epidemiology ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Odds Ratio ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis/diagnosis/*epidemiology/mortality ; Severity of Illness Index ; Sex Factors ; Shock, Septic/diagnosis/*epidemiology/mortality ; Urinary Tract Infections/epidemiology

A prospective multicenter observational study was performed to investigate the epidemiology and outcomes of community-acquired severe sepsis and septic shock. Subjects included 1,192 adult patients admitted to the 22 participating intensive care units (ICUs) of 12 university hospitals in the Korean Sepsis Registry System from April, 2005 through February, 2009. Male accounted for 656 (55%) patients. Mean age was 65.0 +/- 14.2 yr. Septic shock developed in 740 (62.1%) patients. Bacteremia was present in 422 (35.4%) patients. The 28-day and in-hospital mortality rates were 23.0% and 28.0%, respectively. Men were more likely to have comorbid illnesses and acute organ dysfunctions, and had higher mortality and clinical severity compared to women. While respiratory sources of sepsis were common in men, urinary sources were predominant in women. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, cancer (odds ratio 1.89; 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.17), urinary tract infection (0.25; 0.13-0.46), APACHE II score (1.05; 1.02-1.09), SOFA score on day 1 (1.13; 1.06-1.21) and metabolic dysfunction (2.24, 1.45-3.45) were independent clinical factors for gender-related in-hospital mortality. This study provided epidemiological and clinical characteristics of community-acquired severe sepsis and septic shock in ICUs in Korea, and demonstrated the impact of clinical factors on gender difference in mortality.
APACHE ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bacteremia/epidemiology/microbiology ; Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/virology ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Logistic Models ; Lung Diseases/epidemiology ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Odds Ratio ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis/diagnosis/*epidemiology/mortality ; Severity of Illness Index ; Sex Factors ; Shock, Septic/diagnosis/*epidemiology/mortality ; Urinary Tract Infections/epidemiology

The lung cancer mortality in Korea has increased remarkably during the last 20 yr, and, it has become the first leading cause of cancer-related deaths since 2000. The aim of the current study was to examine time trends of lung cancer mortality during the period 1984-2003 in Korea, assessing the effects of age, period, and birth cohort. Data on the annual number of deaths due to lung cancer and on population statistics from 1984 to 2003 were obtained from the Korea National Statistical Office. A log-linear Poisson age-period-cohort model was used to estimate the effects of age, period, and birth cohort. The both trends of male and female lung cancer mortality were both explained by age-period-cohort models. The risks of lung cancer mortalities for both genders were shown to decline in recent birth cohorts. The decreasing trends begin with the 1939 birth cohort for men and 1959 for women. The mortality pattern of lung cancer was dominantly explained by a birth cohort effect, possibly related with the change in smoking pattern, for both men and women. Finally, the mortality of lung cancer in Korea is expected to further increase in both men and women for a while.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/*mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Smoking ; Survival Analysis ; Time Factors

The proportion of cancer related mortality is 26.3% in 2004 and it is still increasing. The most common cancers are stomach cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, and cervix cancer in order of frequency. The proportion of above 6 most common cancers in mortality is 66.8%. The purpose of cancer screening is to reduce morbidity and mortality of cancers by early diagnosis and early treatment. The assessment of screening test includes validity and reliability. Four terms describe the validity of a screening tests: sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive value. The low prevalence lower the positive predictive value. Bias in the evaluation of screening tests lies in selection bias, lead-time bias, and length bias. National cancer screening program for 5 popular cnacers except lung cancer developed since 1999. The target population of this program is lower half of low-income level.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Breast Neoplasms ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Early Detection of Cancer* ; Early Diagnosis ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Korea* ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Prevalence ; Reproducibility of Results ; Selection Bias ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) vary in their biologic behavior. Recurrence and tumor-related mortality may be attributable to molecular abnormalities in primary tumors. This study evaluated such immunophenotypes with regard to cell cycle regulation and proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis, to determine their significance for patient outcome. Core biopsies from 219 patients with NSCLC were assembled on tissue microarrays, and the expressions of p16, p21, p27, cyclin B1, cyclin E, Ki-67, caspase-3, survivin, bcl-2, VEGF, and endostatin were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Despite previously described prognostic relevance of some of the investigated molecules, many of those markers were not directly associated with recurrence or survival. However, there was a trend for p16 immunoreactivity to be associated with a good prognosis (57% vs. 42% in 5-yr survival) (p=0.071). bcl-2 expression was strongly correlated with a better outcome (65% vs. 45% in 5-yr survival) (p=0.029), and the hazard of death for bcl-2 positive patients was 0.42 times of that for bcl-2 negative patients (p=0.047). A multivariate analysis with Cox proportional hazards model confirmed that the lymph node status (p=0.043) and stage (p=0.003) were other independent prognostic factors. Our results suggest that p16 and bcl-2 provide prognostic information independent of the TNM stage in NSCLC.
Tumor Markers, Biological/*analysis ; Survival Rate ; Survival Analysis ; Statistics ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Reproducibility of Results ; Prognosis ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care)/*methods ; Neoplasm Proteins/*analysis ; Male ; Lung Neoplasms/*diagnosis/*metabolism/mortality ; Korea/epidemiology ; Humans ; Female ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/*diagnosis/*metabolism/mortality ; Aged