Lung cancer in Malabar Cancer Center in Kerala--a descriptive analysis

The burden of lung cancer in terms of mortality is the highest among all types of cancers globally. The present study aimed to evaluate lifestyle related habits, clinico-pathological profile and treatment details of lung cancer patients who were registered at Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC), Kerala, during the calendar year 2010. A retrospective evaluation was made from medical records to gather data from 281 registered lung cancer cases in 241 males and 40 females, with a male to female ratio of 6.03: 1. Approximately 89% of the cases were above 50 years of age. Among males about 91% of the cases were smokers and 62% of them had a chronic smoking habit. Adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, non-small cell carcinomas and small cell cancers accounted for 10.7, 13.9, 17.0 and 5.7% respectively. Out of 281 cases around 67% were diagnosed with distant metastasis and the remainder had regional lymph node involvement. However, no statistically significant difference was observed for secondary site of tumor according to gender. As majority of the cases reported at MCC were in an advanced stage of the disease, histology of the secondary site from supraclavicular lymph nodes or liver was taken for diagnosis. Initiation of population based screening for early detection of cancer, and primary and secondary prevention strategies for reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption are high priorities to reduce the lung cancer burden in Kerala.