ABSTRACT
Introduction: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths in the world. The incidence of lung cancer is increasing in India and there is a need to understand the natural history of this disease. Aim of the study: To study the clinico-pathological-radiological profile of patients diagnosed with lung cancer from January 2013 to May 2015 at a tertiary care teaching hospital
Materials and Methods: Inpatient records of all patients admitted during the study period were examined and all patients with a histologically proven diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma were recruited. Demographic characteristics, clinical, radiological and pathological details of each patient were recorded
Results: Fifty four patients with lung cancer were identified. Forty three [79.6%] were male and 11 [20.4%] were female. Thirty two [59.7%] were smokers and 22 [40.7%] were non smokers. Cough and expectoration [61.1%] was the most common presenting symptom followed by breathlessness [59.3%]. Mass lesion [81.5%] was the most common radiological presentation and adenocarcinoma [42.6%] was the most common histological subtype. When compared to fiber optic bronchoscopy, image guided percutaneous biopsy had a better yield for diagnosing lung cancer [51.9% vs 48.1%]. But this difference was not statistically significant [p=0.892]
Conclusion: Adenocarcinoma is replacing squamous cell carcinoma as the most common type of lung cancer in India