Localização do carcinoma pulmonar em relação ao vício tabágico e ao sexo* Location of lung carcinoma in relation to the smoking habit and gender

ABSTRACT Objective : To analyze the locations of lung carcinomas in relation to patient gender and smoking status. Methods : In order to testthe hypothesis that lung carcinoma location (upper or lower lobe; left or right side) is correlated with smoking status and gen der, weconducted a retrospective study of 697 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma treated at the Pulmonology-Oncology Outpatient Clin icof the Federal University of Sao Paulo. Results : We found that the bronchogenic carcinomas occurring in smokers were morefrequently located in the upper lobes, whereas those occurring in nonsmokers were more frequently located in the lower lobes. Inwomen, the neoplasms were more often seen in the lower lobes, especially in nonsmokers. Based on the available data, there were nodifferences in terms of the side affected (left or right). Conclusion : Overall, bronchogenic carcinomas are predominantly found in theupper lobes. However, in nonsmokers, they occur more frequently in the lower lobes. In females, bronchogenic carcinomas present atendency to occur more often in the lower lobes.