1996 Volume 36 Issue 6 Pages 765-774
A retrospective study of 104 women and 375 men with primary lung cancer was conducted to clarify sex-associated difference in clinical features, with special reference to smoking habits. The ratio of smokers and the smoking index in women were significantly lower than those in men, respectively. Adenocarcinoma was the most common histologic type in women. Women showed significantly fewer symptoms than men. The ratios of women who were diagnosed as clinical stage I or IV and performance status (PS) 0 or 4 were significantly higher than those of men, respectively. However, these sex-associated differences of clinical features were closely related to differences in smoking habits between both sexes. In this study, smoking women showed significantly more symptoms than non-smoking women. The ratios of smoking women who were diagnosed as clinical stage N and PS 4 were significantly higher than those of nonsmoking women, respectively. Smoking habits had more important effects on clinical features of lung cancer in women than in men. There were no sex-associated differences in the survival of all cases or in the survivals by histologic type, clinical stage, PS, treatment or smoking habits. However, the survival of women with stage N adenocarcinoma was significantly better than that of men in the same group. There were no differences in clinical features, apart from smoking habits, between men and women with stage N adenocarcinoma.
