Abstract

LUNG CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION: A STUDY FROM YEMEN

Gamal Abdul Hamid*, Ahmed Muthanna and Nasser Baom

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Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in the world and both incidence and mortality rates are continuing to rise in Yemen. However, epidemiological studies to identify common lung cancer determinants in the Yemeni population have been limited. This study investigates the epidemiology and the different histopathological subtypes of lung cancer in correlation with age, sex, and smoking. Material and Methods: 126 tumors diagnosed in the National Oncology Center, Aden, Yemen from 2017 to 2021 were included. Clinical data were collected from patients’ medical files. Results: 77.8% of cases were males compared to 22.2% in females obtaining a male: female ratio of 3.5:1. The risk of lung cancer onset commenced in the age groups more than 60 years and the mean age at diagnosis was 61.7 years with a range of 25–90 years. Prevalence of cases increased with increasing age and smoking. Histopathologically, adenocarcinoma was the most common followed by Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in both sexes. Adenocarcinoma was more common in both smokers and non-smokers. Conclusion: The median age of our patients was slightly lower than that previously reported in Yemen. This study also showed an increase in the relative incidence of adenocarcinoma compared to SCC. Most patients with lung cancer present late with advanced stages that are rarely amenable to curative treatment.

Keywords: Lung cancer, Epidemiology, Adenocarcinoma, Smoking, Underdiagnosis.