Comparative studies between young lung cancer patients and middle aged patients diagnosed by bronchoscopy

【Objective】To study the clinical characteristics and the relation of histopathology with gender,location and sign of bronchoscopy between young lung cancer and middle aged patients diagnosed by bronchoscopy,and the results were compared in the two groups. 【Methods】Review and Analysis of 1411 lung cancer patients diagnosed by bronchoscopy. 【Results】Among 1411 patients,85 cases were young (6.0%); 1326 cases were middle aged patients (94.0%). Of the 85 young patients,the male/female ratio was 2.1/1,and the most common histopathology was small cell carcinoma (57.6%),followed by squamous cell carcinoma (18.8%) and adenocarcinoma (18.8%). Among the 1326 middle aged patients,the male/female ratio was 3.4/1,and the most common histopathology was squamous cell carcinoma (52.9%),followed by small cell carcinoma (30.1%) and adenocarcinoma (13.5%),squamous cell carcinoma,small cell carcinoma and the adenocarcinoma of patients were different in gender of the two groups (P 0.005). Among the young lung cancer patients and female midlife and old lung patients,the most common histopathology was small cell carcinoma,but the highest incidence of male midlife and old lung patients was squamous cell carcinoma. In terms of squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma,male patient is more than female between this two groups,but adenocarcinoma patients have no obvious difference in gender. In the young group,squamous cell carcinoma,small cell carcinoma and the adenocarcinoma of patients were no significantly difference in gender (P 0.05),but there were obviously difference in middle aged patients (P 0.005). 82.4% young lung cancer patients and 88.8% middle aged patients all had direct sign. Most squamous cell carcinoma had cauliflower-like tumour in this two groups (50.0% and 67.0%); small cell carcinoma had polypus-like or nodular appearance or nipple-shaped tumour (46.9% and 44.3%) and infiltrative lesion (30.6% and 42.1%); while most adeno-carcinoma had polypus-like or nodular appearance or nipple-shaped tumour (43.8%) and congestion and edema (18.8%) in young lung patients,while most patients are infiltrative lesion (33.7%) and polypus-like or nodular appearance or nipple-shaped tumour (30.9%) in middle aged patients. The location of lung cancer was more in the right lung and the upper lobe,there were no obviously difference about the cancer's distribution between left and right lungs (P 0.05).【Conclusions】The clinical characteristics and the relation of histopathology with gender,location and sign of bronchoscopy between young lung cancer and middle aged patients diagnosed are alike in some aspects,but not in some others. This study suggests bronchoscopy is an important approach in diagnosis of lung cancer.