Background: Lung cancer has long been a leading cause of cancer related death in both women and men worldwide. The focus of this study was to review clinicopathological features of Iranian patients diagnosed with lung cancer.
Materials and methods: Clinicopathological data of 1353 primary lung cancer patients diagnosed during 17 years (1997-2014) in the "National Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease" (NRITLD), Tehran, Iran, were retrospectively reviewed.
Results: The median age of patients was 60 (mean: 58.95 years, range: 16- 99) and adenocarcinoma was the most prevalent pathology (45.2%). Male/female ratio was 3.22 and 57.2% of patients were smokers (men 70.3%, women 15%). The majority (85.3%) were referred in advanced stages (stage IIIB and IV).
Conclusions: Although some of our findings are in concordance with other studies in lung cancer there are some discrepancies particularly in terms of smoking status and median age of Iranian patients. Further clinical and epidemiological studies are warranted to elucidate etiologic and factors other than smoking contributing to development of lung cancer, such as environmental exposures or genetic predisposition.