The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of patients who underwent a fast diagnostic track (FDT) due to suspected lung cancer at Landspitali University Hospital, Iceland.
Hospital records were reviewed on background characteristics, diagnosis, staging, waiting times and survival of all 550 patients (mean age 68.1 years, 57% female) that participated in the FDT from February 1, 2008 to January 31, 2015. Adjusting for clinical characteristics in a multivariate analysis, overall survival was compared for patients diagnosed with lung cancer within or outside the FDT in Iceland in 2014 (n=167, mean age 69.3 years, 61.7% female).
Of the 550 FDT patients, 426 were diagnosed with lung cancer (77.5%); 346 of the non-small cell type (NSCLC) (81.2%). The proportion of patients receiving lung cancer diagnosis through the FDT increased from 23.3% in 2008 to 47.9% in 2014 (p