Bronchogenic carcinoma in patients with pulmonary histiocytosis X

Five cases of bronchogenic carcinoma were observed among 93 patients with pulmonary histiocytosis X (Hx). Mean age at the time of diagnosis of Hx was 42 years; on the average, cancer occurred 10.5 years later. All patients were smokers and continued to smoke heavily at the time of diagnosis of cancer. Comparison of the five cases associating Hx and lung carcinoma with a group of 88 control patients suffering from Hx alone suggested that smoking played the predominant role in the pathogenesis of cancer. In fact, among the four patients with Hx and carcinoma older than 45 years, tobacco consumption was significantly greater (64.7 +/- 37 pack-year, mean +/- SD) than that of the 15 control patients of the same age with only Hx (40.8 +/- 11.6, p less than 0.01). In light of this good correlation, the diagnosis of Hx strongly advocates stopping tobacco smoking and long-term medical follow-up.