[Clinical features of non-small cell lung cancer cases]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases that were diagnosed in our clinic. The patients who were diagnosed as NSCLC in our clinic between January 1988 and January 1999 were comprised the study group. The files and records of the study group were retrospectively reviewed to identify patients and all the data including demographic characteristics, history, physical examination findings, laboratory values, diagnostic procedures, radiologic findings and staging procedures. The study group included 564 patients (506 male, 58 female). The mean age was 60 years (28-97). 87% of the patients were current smokers or ex-smokers. The most frequent symptoms on admission were cough, sputum, and dyspnea. The most common radiologic finding was a central mass with a diameter of more than 4 cm with an irregular border. The diagnosis was established by histopathologic examination of biopsy specimens obtained by various means, in which bronchoscopy was the sole means of diagnosis in 83% of the patients. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimens resulted as follows: 85.8% squamous cell carcinoma, 10.3% adenocarcinoma, 1.4% large cell carcinoma, 0.45% adenosquamous carcinoma, and 2.1% undifferentiated NSCLC. Staging procedures that were done in all patients revealed that 85% of the patients were diagnosed at the stage IIIB and IV. Metastasis was most frequently to the bones followed by brain and liver. In our study squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathologic type with a higher percentage than the previous reports in the literature. The percentages of stage IIIB and IV were also higher in our study than previous papers in the literature.