The Frequency of Clubbing in Lung Cancer

Objectives: Clubbing is the enlargement of the distal segment of a digit due to an increase in soft tissue. It can be hereditary or acquired. Acquired clubbing is seen in a wide variety of diseases including chronic inflammatory diseases, infections and congenital heart diseases. It can also be a paraneoplastic marker. It has been proposed that ectopic growth hormone is secreted in case of lung carcinoma. In this study, our purpose was to determine the frequency of clubbing in lung cancer, the frequency according to the histopathological type and the relationship between clubbing and growth hormone levels. Methods: 100 cases with primary lung cancer, 100 with chronic lung disease and 100 healthy individuals were included prospectively in our study. Cases with lung carcinoma were grouped according to the histopathological type of the cancer and evaluated for the presence of clubbing by the same physician. Plasma growth hormone (GH) levels were measured and bone scintigraphy was performed on the patients who had clubbing. Results: Of the 100 patients with lung cancer, clubbing was found in three males(3%). No pathology was demonstrated in the GH levels and bone scintigraphies in these three cases. Conclusion: Although it has been suggested that ectopic growth hormone secretion in lung carcinoma is responsible for clubbing, we found no significant association between clubbing in lung carcinoma and GH levels in our study.