Over the last few years, surgeons have become more conservative in treating early-stage lung cancer. They have reduced the amount of tissue they remove, especially in patients whose breathing is already compromised, without substantially affecting survival rates. Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy by determining how many patients could ultimately be spared surgery. At first, cancer disappeared in 71 percent of patients. The Mayo researchers have followed the patients from two to almost 10 years, and 43 percent have been spared surgery.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States.
The American Cancer Society estimates about 94,400 men and 66,000 women will die of the disease in 1997. The cancer cells in each type grow and spread differently and are treated in different ways. Non-small cell lung cancer is more common and is usually associated with smoking, passive smoking or radon exposure. Squamous cell is one of three kinds of non-small cell lung cancer. The five-year survival rate for all stages of lung cancer is 14 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.