Epidemiological profile and prognostic factors in patients with lung cancer

Abstract

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of patients with lung cancer treated at a public tertiary referral hospital specializing in oncology, and to explore variables that may be related to the overall survival (OS) of these patients. Method: Data from the medical records of all patients with invasive lung cancer consecutively seen at the Oncology Department of Hospital Estadual Mário Covas between August 2008 and December 2013 were extracted. The information obtained was submitted to statistical analysis. Results: Of the total 210 patients, 39 were excluded from analysis due to lack of information in the medical record. The most common histological type was adenocarcinoma, representing 39.41% of the sample, followed by squamous cell carcinoma with 25.29% and small-cell carcinoma with 13.53%. Other histological types were responsible for the remaining 21.76%. There was a statistically significant association between Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≤ 70%, palliative chemotherapy lines performed and stage at diagnosis, and OS. Additionally, administration of target therapy to patients with EGFR mutation was associated with significantly better overall survival. However, analysis of laboratory variables (hemoglobin, albumin and LDH) as possible prognostic factors for survival showed no statistically significant relationship. Among patients with stage III and IV, the median OS was 10.1 months. Conclusion: The risk factors for shorter OS were KPS score ≤ 70%, less than two lines of palliative chemotherapy, and stage III and IV at diagnosis. The implementation of CT screening for risk patients may allow earlier diagnosis of cases and improve these results.

Pre‑treatment hemoglobin levels are an independent prognostic factor in patients with non‑small cell lung cancer

“…These data are concordant with those of previous studies (8)(9)(10); to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of associations between pre-treatment hemoglobin levels and the prognosis of patients with NSCLC, independent of whether they had received chemotherapy and/or lobectomy, in Henan, China. Compared with previous studies (8)(9)(10)(11)15), the multivariate models performed in the current study included more factors, rendering the present results less confounded.…”

“…Hemoglobin is a biochemical biomarker assessed during clinical examination. Several reports have indicated that low hemoglobin levels are associated with poor survival in patients with NSCLC (8)(9)(10); however, contradictory reports also exist (11,12). Whether hemoglobin levels, especially low pre-treatment hemoglobin (LPHb) levels, are an independent predictor for poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC requires further study for clarification.…”

Impacto da vitamina d na prevenção do câncer pulmonar e brônquico

“…In this sense, because they contributed to the morbidity and mortality rates, they were defined as limiting for this study. 15 It is also considered the underreporting of deaths as another form of research restriction during data collection. Within this context, there is a high proportion of registered mortality rates with ill-defined causes, although MIS is well established in the country.…”

“…13 Another challenge is in relation to epidemiological studies on lung cancer, since many of them do not depict the specific histological type of the neoplasm and this represents a change in the lifetime of the individual depending on the type of tissue reached by the malignant tumor. 15 The country's territorial extension contributes significantly to the collection of results. According to IBGE, the distance between the north and south ends of Brazil is 4398 kilometers (latitude range from 05 ° 16 'N to 33 ° 45' S).…”

“…All this change in the mortality burden shows the origin of a phenomenon called "feminization" of the disease, which is also similar for mortality records in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). [6][7] When considering risk factors, smoking is the main etiological agent of both cancers. Approximately 90% of cases occur in smokers and the risk is proportional to the daily smoking load, type and duration.…”