International Journal of Hematology and Oncology 2023, Vol 33, Num 4 Page(s): 073-079
LUNG CANCER IN YOUNG PATIENTS

ESRA KAYTAN1, E. MERDAN FAYDA1, SEVGİ ÖZDEN1, E. NEZİH ORAL1, AHMET KİZİR1

İstanbul Üniversitesi İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi Radyasyon Onkolojisi Anabilim Dalı

Keywords: lung cancer, younger patients, advanced stage, prognostic factors
The records of 58 patients younger than 35 years of age who had bronchogenic carcinoma diagnosed between 1989-1999 were analyzed for demographic features and prognostic factors. Forty-eight men and 10 women patients had median age of 33 (range: 26-35). Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent (55%) histologic type. The majority of the patients were in the advanced stage (96% stage III and IV) at the time of diagnosis. History of smoking was high (71%),and more frequent in males than in females (84% vs. 10%). LDH level was high in II patients (28%), and anemia under 10 g/dl was present in 13 patients (30%). Overall median survival was 6.7 months; the 2 year survival rate was 12%. In univariate analysis, gender (p=0.01), cigarette smoking (p=0.04), LDH levels (p=0.001), performance status (p=0.0002), and stage (p=0.05) were found as prognostic factors. Performance status (p=0.02) and LDH levels (p=0.02) were statistically significant prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. The patients who had high LDH level a 4.8 fold, and those with <70 performance status a 4.3 fold greater probability of death (95% confidence interval: 4.9-14.5 and 4.9-12.4, respectively). As a result, prognostic factors in lung cancer at young age did not differ from those in elderly. However the frequency of advanced disease at presentation was greater in younger patients.