[Bronchogenic carcinoma 2000-2001: characteristics and overall survival]

To describe the clinical characteristics and survival of patients diagnosed with bronchogenic carcinoma during the years 2000 and 2001 in a tertiary level hospital.

Data were collected from our hospital's tumor registry and validated with independent sources. Of all the patients diagnosed with or treated for bronchogenic carcinoma in our hospital, only those from our health care area were selected.

During the 2-year study period, 482 patients were diagnosed. Of those, 91% were men. The mean (SD) age was 66.6 (9.65) years. Large cell carcinomas accounted for 29.4% of cases. Of all the cases of bronchogenic carcinoma, 41.3% were diagnosed in stage IV. Thirty percent of non-small cell carcinomas were classified as stage I, compared to 6% of small cell carcinomas (P< .001). The most frequent treatment was chemotherapy (42.1%) and 20% of patients underwent surgery. The overall 5-year survival rate was 13% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10%-16%), while survival was significantly lower in patients aged 68 years or older (95% CI, 3%-15%; P< .001) and in patients with small cell carcinoma (0%, P< .01).

Our recent experience (2000-2001) confirmed the advanced age of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, the frequency of diagnosis in advanced stages of the disease (41% in stage IV), and the low overall 5-year survival rate (13%).