Adenocarcinoma of the lung in Chinese patients: a revisit and some perspectives from the literature.

AIM: To establish an updated clinical profile of adenocarcinoma of the lung.

DESIGN

Retrospective review of clinical charts, chest radiography, and computed tomography of consecutive patients who attended Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong between June 1995 and December 1997.

RESULTS

In the 115 patients studied, 13% were <40 years of age (33.3% ever smokers). Haemoptysis is more common among patients with early disease, while finger clubbing was detected more commonly among smokers and ex-smokers. Most (98.3%) patients had abnormal chest radiology including presence of mass lesion, pleural effusion, collapse/consolidation, and effusion. Patients with adenocarcinoma were significantly more likely to be younger, female, in advanced disease (stage IIIB and IV), non-smoker, and symptomatic on presentation (p<0.05) than those with squamous cell lung cancer (n=128).

CONCLUSION

The clinical profile of Chinese adenocarcinoma patients should help clinicians in the diagnosis and management of these patients.