Improvements in Surgical Results for Lung Cancer from 1989 to 1999 in Japan

BackgroundIn 1986, Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery started a nationwide survey of the number of primary lung cancer undergoing resection and this survey was continued annually. Thereafter, investigations of lung cancer surgical results have been conducted three times. The postoperative overall 5-year survival rate was 47.8% in resected cases in 1989, 52.3% in 1994, and 62.0% in 1999, showing improvement over the decade (p <...