Lung cancer incidence rates by histologic type: an example of trends in Eastern Europe - Slovakia 1978-1995
Abstrakt
During the period 1978-1995 43206 cases of lung cancer-37967 in men and 5239 in women - were recorded in Slovakia. Among 26240 microscopically confirmed cases in men squamous cell carcinomas were the most frequent (57.1%) followed by small cell carcinomas (18.3%) and adenocarcinomas (11.7%).
In women from 3190 microscopically confirmed cases squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas had nearly the same frequency (31.9% and 32.2%, respectively), followed by small cell carcinomas (16.1%). In men after a marked increase of overall lung cancer incidence and mortality the rates started to flatten and even decline from the early 1990s.
The main histologic types peaked in the late 1980s and declined thereafter but showed increase of percentage change when the rates at the beginning and the end of the studied period were compared; the highest one was marked for adenocarcinomas. The corresponding rates in women were much lower, but their increase was more pronounced than in men.
Adenocarcinomas showed almost twofold increase in women during the first time-period of the study but after peaking in 1984-1986 they stabilized, while squamous cell carcinomas continued to increase also in recent years. The analysis of incidence rates by age groups showed that the initial increase and subsequent decrease of all microscopically confirmed cases in men as well as their gradual increase in women was influenced mainly by the trends of squamous cell carcinomas in younger age groups in men and in all age groups in women.
Absence of higher increase and proportion of adenocarcinomas in Slovakia in both sexes could probably be explained by delayed introduction of filter tipped and low tar cigarettes