Stage of Lung Cancer in Relation to Its Size

Objective: To assess the relationship between tumor size and disease stage at the time of diagnosis in non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: From the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry, we identified all cases of primary non-small cell lung cancer diagnosed prior to autopsy. Among these, we focused on 84,152 cases diagnosed in 1988 or later and documented as to tumor size and disease stage at diagnosis. The distribution of disease stage within categories of tumor size was determined. Results: The smaller the tumor was, the more likely the disease was stage I. For tumors 45 mm, with all of these proportions being very precise. Conclusions: Tumor size has substantial bearing on disease stage in non-small cell lung cancer. (CHEST 2005; 127:1136–1139)