Steadily improving survival in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity66 @entity5 @entity2 @entity152 @entity420
BACKGROUND: National data demonstrate minimal improvement in survival for @entity1 diagnosed with @entity2 despite a number of apparent advances during the past 3 decades. We wished to know how demographic characteristics, staging, therapy, and survival have changed over time for @entity1 with @entity2 who were accessioned to the @entity5 registry of a large community hospital in southern California. @entity1 AND METHODS: Clinical features and survival data were collected on @entity1 diagnosed during each of the successive 6-year eras of 1986 to 1991 (n = 812), 1992 to 1997 (n = 1072), 1998 to 2003 (n = 1209), and 2004 to 2009 (n = 1365). RESULTS: Median survival improved from 11 to 13 to 16 to 26 months and overall 5-year survival steadily improved from 16.5% to 19.1% to 24.0% to 31.1%. The proportion of @entity1 with @entity66 at diagnosis increased from 18.4% to 24.1% to 24.9% to 31.6%. Improvements in relative survival were much greater than have occurred nationally. Other obvious trends over time were increasing age of @entity1 , increasing proportions with diagnoses of @entity420 with concomitant decreases in squamous cell and small cell histologies, and decreases in the proportion of @entity152 with reciprocal increases in neuroendocrine diagnoses. The use of chemotherapy for @entity1 with @entity66 tripled in the most recent era. CONCLUSION: Survival has steadily improved for @entity1 in this community who were diagnosed with @entity2 . The explanations for this improvement are multifactorial, but include earlier stage at diagnosis, decreases in histologic types associated with active smoking, and increased use of systemic therapies.
