Clinicopathologic profile of bronchogenic carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION Bronchogenic carcinoma is the most common cancer in the world. It can present in many ways. Accurate diagnosis and categorization into different types is important because of its effect on prognosis and management. We conducted this study to find out the frequency of various histological types of bronchogenic carcinoma and correlate with their clinicopathologic profile. METHODS This is a retrospective study conducted in 174 histopathologically proven cases of bronchogenic carcinoma that were referred from different parts of the country to a private hospital in Kathmandu over a period of 4 years. RESULTS The mean age of the patients developing bronchogenic carcinoma was 64 years. Squamous cell carcinoma was the commonest histologic subtype followed by small cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma was more common in females. Clinical history was available in 133 cases. Among them, almost all patients had a history of smoking, the average number of pack years being 39.99. Most of the patients consulted doctor for chief complaint of cough and shortness of breath, the average duration of symptoms being 117.53 days. CONCLUSIONS The lung cancer must be ruled out in all patients who have persistent signs and symptoms of pulmonary disease with a history of smoking.