Clinico-pathological Profile of Bronchogenic Carcinoma Among Females in North India.

OBJECTIVE The present study was undertaken to explore the clinico-pathological profile of bronchogenic carcinoma among females. METHODS One hundred and twenty-four female patients with histopathologically proven bronchogenic carcinoma who were hospitalised in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George's Medical University, Lucknow from July 1985 to February 2007 were retrospectively studied. RESULTS Their mean age was 61 years; 12.9% of these were less than 40 years of age. Of these, 79% of female patients of lung cancer were first regarded as pulmonary tuberculosis; 76% belonged to rural area. Use of biomass fuel and kerosene oil exposure was the predominant risk factors evident among the 116 non-smoker women. Adenocarcinoma was observed in 43.5%, followed by squamous cell carcinoma in 33.1% and the remaining 23.4% cases were small cell carcinoma. The majority (77.4%) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients had advanced stage disease (I]Ib and IV) and 58% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients had limited disease and 42% of SCLC patients had extensive disease at the time of diagnosis. CONCLUSION Adenocarcinoma was found to be the most common histopathological type of bronchogenic carcinoma among these females.