ISSN 0303-5212
 

Original Research 


Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman.

Abstract
Objectives: Late recognition of lung cancer is the major factor contributing towards its unsuccessful treatment. We conducted a prospective study to define any significant relationship of presenting symptoms with the diagnosis of lung cancer with a view to develop a model to identify those at high risk.
Methods: A consecutive series of 587 patients referred to our rapid access chest clinic with the suspicion of lung cancer were included. The presenting symptoms, chest x-ray findings and final diagnosis of all the patients were recorded. Chi-square and t-test were used for univariate analysis. A model was generated from logistic regression analysis and the discriminatory power of the model was assessed using area under receiver operator characteristic curve.
Results: Univariate analysis demonstrated that smoking, anorexia, weight loss and voice change were significantly more common in patients with lung cancer (p<0.05). Cough, expectoration and hemoptysis were significantly less common (p<0.05). Regression analysis qualified age, weight loss and smoking as significant predictors of lung cancer.
Conclusion: Only few of the historically accepted symptoms demonstrated a strong association with lung cancer and the model developed on these can form basis for a scoring tool that can perhaps help identify those at higher risk of cancer. Further refinement of the tool is required to accommodate cases presenting at primary care level.

Key words: Lung cancer, chest x-ray, smoking, weight loss.


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. RMJ. 2015; 40(1): 14-17.


Web Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=172990 [Access: December 06, 2023].


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. RMJ. 2015; 40(1): 14-17.



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. RMJ. (2015), [cited December 06, 2023]; 40(1): 14-17.



Harvard Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman (2015) Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. RMJ, 40 (1), 14-17.



Turabian Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. 2015. Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. Rawal Medical Journal, 40 (1), 14-17.



Chicago Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. "Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.." Rawal Medical Journal 40 (2015), 14-17.



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman. "Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.." Rawal Medical Journal 40.1 (2015), 14-17. Print.



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Kaleem Ullah Toori, Ali Zohair Nomani, Maxwell Winson, Mati ur Rehman (2015) Is there light at the end of the tunnel; symptoms and chest x-ray help identify patients at high risk of lung cancer.. Rawal Medical Journal, 40 (1), 14-17.