Demographic and clinicopathological parameters in lung cancer in a chest hospital, Lahore - Pakistan

ABSTRACT

We are presenting the clinical and pathological characteristics of lung cancer among patients reporting to Gulab Devi Chest Hospital Lahore, the largest and the oldest health care facility for chest diseases including lung cancer in Pakistan. It was a cross - sectional, descriptive study conducted at the department of histopathology, Gulab Devi Hospital Lahore between March 2011 and February 2012. A sample of 293 patients of primary lung cancer was taken. The demographic and clinical details i.e. age, sex, history of smoking and presenting symptoms were collected after the informed consent. Histopathological diagnosis and tumour grades were added in respective columns. Data was analysed with the help of S.P.S.S. version 17.0. Mean age was 53.19 +/- 0.92 years for male and 47.36 +/- 1.92 years for females. Male to female ratio was 31. History of tobacco smoking was present in 2/3[rd] of the patients. Smoking was strongly associated with squamous and small cell carcinoma of lung. Most common histological diagnoses were squamous cell, small cell and adenocarcinoma respectively. Majority of squamous cell carcinoma were poorly differentiated as compared to adenocarcinoma in which well and moderately differentiated tumours constituted 25% and 45% respectively. Most of patients presented at inoperable stage. Smoking is most strongly associated with the two most common histological entities of lung cancer viz. squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma. Bronchial biopsy was the commonest diagnostic procedure in practice and surgical resection is offered to only a few cases