Lung Cancer in Women: a Comparison with Men and an Analysis of Cases Diagnosed in Ourense (Spain) 1999-2006

Abstract Introduction and objective To analyse the frequency, characteristics and survival of women with lung cancer (LC), compared with male patients. Patients and methods A retrospective study was performed in patients with LC diagnosed by histocytology from 1999 to 2006. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The chi-squared test was used to compare variables. Results A total of 1,290 patients were diagnosed; 190 (14.7%) of them were women, with a mean age of 67 ± 13. The percentage of smokers was 17%. Histological types included: adenocarcinoma 53%, small cell 21%, epidermoid carcinoma 13%. Surgery was performed (20%) in a higher percentage of women than in men. There were no differences in survival between the two groups. Conclusions Of the total cases diagnosed, 14.7% were women, with a lower percentage of smokers. Adenocarcinoma was the most common histological type. There were no differences in survival compared to men.