[Primary lung cancer in young adults]

Despite a recent trend of rapid increase in the incidence of lung cancer in Japan, lung cancer has been detected rarely among young patients. The findings in 15 patients under 40 years of age who underwent surgery for primary lung cancer at Cancer Institute Hospital (C.I.H.) are presented. Fourteen were located in the region of the periphery. Ten of the 14 peripheral lesions were adenocarcinoma. The chances of cure or even long survival are very small. The case report presents a case with lung cancer in a 22-year-old woman who was the youngest in C.I.H. On histological examination, the excised tumor proved to be moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma.