BACKGROUND: Surgical resection is the recognised treatment of choice for @entity1 with stage I or II @entity1149 ( @entity1149 ). In the UK surgical resection rates have remained far lower (< 10%) than those achieved in Europe and the USA (> 20%), despite the recent introduction of fast access investigation units. It remains unclear therefore why UK surgical resection rates lag so far behind those of other countries. METHODS: A new quick access two stop investigation service was established at Papworth in November 1995 to investigate all @entity1 presenting to any of three surrounding health districts with suspected @entity2 . Once staging was complete, all @entity1 with confirmed @entity2 were reviewed by a multidisciplinary team which included an oncologist and a thoracic surgeon. Time from presentation to definitive treatment and surgical resection rates were reviewed. RESULTS: Two hundred and nine (76%) of a total of 275 consecutive @entity1 investigated had confirmed @entity2 (28 small cell, 181 non-small cell). Of the remainder, eight @entity1 (2%) had metastatic disease, four (1%) had other @entity5 ( @entity704 , @entity2615 ), four @entity1 (1%) had @entity5 , and 50 (18%) had other non-malignant diseases. Of the 181 @entity1 with non-small cell primary @entity2 , 47 (25%) underwent successful surgical resection, of whom 59% had stage I and 21% stage II disease. The failed thoracotomy rate was 11%. Median time from presentation at the peripheral clinic to surgical resection was 5 weeks (range 1-13). CONCLUSION: Quick access investigation, high histological confirmation rates, routine CT scanning, and review of every @entity1 with confirmed @entity2 by a thoracic surgeon led to a substantial increase in the successful surgical resection rate. These results support the growing concern that many @entity1 with operable @entity5 are being denied the chance of curative surgery in our present system.

Improving surgical resection rate in XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity704 :: ('MESH:D013945', 'Disease') :: ['thymoma'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['thoracic malignancy', 'benign thoracic tumours', 'tumours'] @entity1149 :: ('MESH:D002289', 'Disease') :: ['NSCLC', 'non-small cell lung cancer'] @entity2 :: ('MESH:D008175', 'Disease') :: ['lung cancer'] @entity2615 :: ('MESH:D008654', 'Disease') :: ['mesothelioma']
@entity2 :: (MESH:D008175,Disease) :: ['lung cancer']
