SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCE PAIN PERCEPTION IN NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER PATIENTS.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common malignant disease in men and the third most common in women worldwide. Pain in these patients is a leading and debilitating symptom, among others. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and pain perception, as measured by visual analogue scale for pain, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: This observational, single centre study included both a cross-sectional and prospective cohort design. RESULTS: Forty-one patients with a median age of 61 years (range 56-68) were included. This study showed that subjective perception of pain is related to age and place of residence. Younger patients ( ≤ 60 years old, p=0.026) and those residing in cities (p=0.03 1) reported feeling worse pain. Age was independently and statistically associated with the relative relief of pain after analgesic therapy (Wald=5.914; ss=1; p=0.015). CONCLUSION: Age, lifestyle, place of residence, and mentality should be considered when evaluating pain percep- tion in patients suffering from chronic pain related to malignant disease in order to provide the best possible medical treat- ment with the goal of improving quality of life.

Smoking behaviors and lung cancer epidemiology: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world. According to the latest available data, in the year 2012 Croatia was among 20 countries with the highest incidence of lung cancer. Although tobacco smoking is a proven cause of lung cancer, recent data show that more than one quarter of adult inhabitants of Croatia are everyday smokers. The purpose of this study was to present epidemiology and treatment modalities of lung cancer in the Department for mediastinal tumors, Clinic for lung diseases Jordanovac, and to make a comparison between the available data from Croatia and the rest of the world. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study cohort included 212 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients who had referred to our Department from January 2012 until December 2012. Features such as age, gender, cytology and histology of the tumor, stage at diagnosis and applied therapy were evaluated respectively. RESULTS: Approximately two-thirds of all newly diagnosed lung cancers occurred in men. Out of the study cohort, 12.3% were diagnosed with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 87.7% were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The majority of the patients diagnosed with NSCLC had adenocarcinoma (47.9%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (33.9%) and large cell carcinoma (15%). Only a small number of patients diagnosed and treated for lung cancer in our Department had never smoked tobacco. The majority of those patients were women and the most common histological type found was adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: The number of patients who had potentially operable disease at presentation was around 10%. That is why, in most cases, therapeutic options were confined to palliative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Attention should be directed to an early detection of lung cancer patients, which could provide better treatment options and improve overall survival.