Primary pulmonary carcinoma in Lagos, Nigeria: a clinicopathological study

A retrospective clinicopathological study of bronchogenic carcinoma in patients admitted to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) during a 17-year period (1975-1991) is presented. Out of the 148 cases, 88 were confirmed histopathologically and in the remaining 66 cases, diagnosis was based on a combination of clinical and radiological features. Epidermoid carcinoma was the commonest histopathological variant and the male/female ratio was 2:1. Sixty five percent of the patients admitted to being heavy smokers. The majority of patients presented with weight loss, chronic cough with chest pain and haemoptysis in that order. With an average of nine cases yearly, this study shows that this disease is still uncommon in Nigerians.