Histopathological subtypes of lung cancer presented at a tertiary care cancer hospital in Kerala: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is one of the commonest cancers causes high rate of mortality worldwide. An increasing incidence of lung cancer and the pathological profile varies among gender and geographical regions. The present study was aimed to assess the pattern of histological subtypes of lung cancer and their distribution with age and gender.Methods: Histologically proven primary lung cancers were selected from the cancer registry. Distribution of subtypes of lung cancer in various age and gender was collected. The major clinical presentation among the non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) were also analysed. The data were statistically analysed.Results: A total of 155 cases of lung cancers were analysed. Adenocarcinoma of lung was the most common subtype followed by squamous cell carcinoma and SCLC. Majority were males with age of presentation from 23 to 93 years. Age of presentation in the female group was 23-75 years. Significant difference was found between cancer numbers in male and female patients (p=0.0001). Statistically significant difference was found among the distribution of smokers and non-smokers in the NSCLC and SCLC patients (p=0.046). Most of the NSCLC and SCLC patients were presented with dyspnea and coughing.Conclusions: Lung cancers were commonly seen in males and smokers. The most common histological subtype in males and females was adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis of histological subtype at the onset of clinical presentation of suspected cases of lung cancer is required to start the therapeutic regimen at the earliest to increase the longevity of patients.