ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A study was performed to identify differences between men and women with regard to lung cancer type, stage at diagnosis, and survival in a single hospital system cancer registry. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was designed based on a study population drawn from the lung cancer tumor registry at a single hospital system composed of 2 independent hospitals in the Midwestern United States. This database included all patients from 1996 to 2002 with known lung cancer or abnormal findings on chest radiography or computed tomography (N=2618). Patients with adenocarcinoma or squamous cell, small-cell, or large-cell carcinoma were included in the study. Data were collected on patient sex, age, cancer type, stage at diagnosis, and survival status. RESULTS: A total of 1216 men and 997 women met inclusion criteria for the study. There was no significant difference in age between sexes at diagnosis. Women were significantly more likely to have adenocarcinoma or small-cell carcinoma but less likely to have squamous cell carcinoma compared with men. There were no significant differences between sexes in the incidence of large-cell carcinoma. No significant differences were found between men and women in terms of cancer stage at diagnosis. There were significant differences in survival between the histologic types at years 3, 4, and 5. Only patients with stage I disease showed a difference between sexes and only for years 2, 3, 4, and 5. CONCLUSION: Overall differences in lung cancer histology and survival were found between men and women. Because a high mortality rate of lung cancer exists in both sexes, it is important to understand its occurrence and survival rates in both sexes.
