{"id":5146,"date":"2025-09-16T12:24:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/?p=5146"},"modified":"2025-09-16T12:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:29:00","slug":"first-comprehensive-data-on-lung-cancer-in-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/first-comprehensive-data-on-lung-cancer-in-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"First Comprehensive Data on Lung Cancer in Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in Georgia, yet until recently, little was known about the real-world characteristics of patients being diagnosed and treated in the country. This knowledge gap has hindered efforts to design effective early detection strategies and improve patient outcomes. Recognizing this, a team at the Caucasus Medical Centre in Tbilisi conducted the first comprehensive review of newly diagnosed lung cancer cases, covering the period from January 2023 to February 20, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The study analyzed 270 confirmed cases, providing valuable insights into how lung cancer presents in Georgian patients. The results were as follows: most patients were older men, with a very high prevalence of current or former smoking, 46% of the patients were heavy smokers. Alarmingly, nearly 70% were diagnosed at advanced stages (stage IV or extensive), while only 5% had early-stage disease. Notably metastases were often present, most commonly spread to opposing lung or bones. This late detection severely limits treatment options and contributes to the poor survival rates observed nationally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors also looked at the types of lung cancer. The most common form was non-small cell lung cancer, especially adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. A smaller number had the more aggressive small cell type. Modern cancer care often depends on special molecular tests that look for genetic \u201cmarkers\u201d, such as EGFR or ALK mutations,\u00a0 which can guide doctors toward targeted treatments. In this study, some patients did show these important markers, but the tests are still not widely used in Georgia because of cost and limited access.<\/span><\/p>\n

The key message is clear: lung cancer in Georgia is usually found too late, when options are few and outcomes are poor. The authors of the study stress the urgent need for a national screening program, especially for smokers and other high-risk groups. They also call for more public awareness about symptoms like persistent cough or unexplained shortness of breath, and for wider access to modern diagnostic tests and therapies.<\/span><\/p>\n

This landmark study is more than just statistics,\u00a0 it is a wake-up call. If Georgia can invest in earlier detection, stronger tobacco control, and fair access to treatment, many lives could be saved. For the first time, there is solid evidence to guide these changes, giving hope that the country\u2019s lung cancer story can shift toward better outcomes in the years ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in Georgia, yet until recently, little was known about the real-world characteristics of patients being diagnosed and treated in the country. This knowledge gap has hindered efforts to design effective early detection strategies and improve patient outcomes. Recognizing this, a team at the Caucasus Medical Centre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1699,1651,1657],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-for-patients","category-insight","category-science"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5147,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions\/5147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}