[The incidence, trend and survival in lung cancer by histological type in Gipuzkoa )1983-1992)].

INTRODUCTION

The incidence, trend and survival of lung cancer according to histologic types in Gipuzkoa area were studied.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The incidence of cases of lung cancer from 1983 and 1992 were studied. Cancers were classified into four major histologic groups.

RESULTS

A total of 1,815 tumors were diagnosed, 91.3% carcinomas, 0.4% non-epithelial tumors and 8.3% non-classified tumors. Among males, 45.5% were squamous carcinomas and among females, 49.7% adenocarcinomas. The male/female ratio of tumors has changed from 17.1/1 for the 1983-1984 period to 9.61/1 for the 1991-1992 period. Among males, a significant increase of small cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas and large cell carcinomas was observed. Among females, a significant increase of adenocarcinomas was observed. Survival at 5 years ranged from 25.6% for the large cell carcinoma to 11.6% for the small cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Among males the squamous carcinoma and small cell carcinoma predominated; among females, adenocarcinoma was the most common type. An increase of lung cancer in both genders was observed and for all histologic types, with the exception of squamous carcinoma in males, with a plateau since 1988. The prognosis is very poor, and worse for the small cell carcinoma.