Lung cancer in Northern Portugal: A hospital-based study.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide. In Portugal, the disease remains the main cause of cancer death in males. AIM: This study aims to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of lung cancer patients diagnosed and treated in northern Portugal hospitals from 2000 to 2010. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve hospitals in the north of Portugal contributed to this study. The demographic and clinic characteristics of the patients registered in each hospital from 2000 to 2010 and the patterns of their occurrence were analyzed. RESULTS: During an 11-year period (2000-2010), 9767 lung cancer patients were registered in the participating hospitals. Comparing the number of the patients registered in the year 2000 to those registered during 2010, there was a significant increase in lung cancer cases. Females represent only 20% of the total registered lung cancer cases; however, during the study period, the number of female patients increased by 30%. A significant number of the patients, 3117 (48.6%), had poor performance status at presentation. The adenocarcinoma histology became more preponderant over the study period. Most of the patients were diagnosed as stages IIIB or IV: 7206 of 9267 (77.8%). Chemotherapy was the treatment of choice for 3529 (40.4%) patients, whereas surgical treatment was achieved in 1301 (14.9%) cases. CONCLUSION: A significant number of lung cancer patients have been diagnosed and treated in hospitals in northern Portugal, and the incidence of the disease among females has been increasing. The overwhelming majority of the tumors were diagnosed in advanced stage; nevertheless, surgical treatment was possible in 14.9% of the patients.