Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer patients associated with a family history of lung cancer.
BACKGROUND
Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a family history of lung cancer (FHLC) have not been well established.


METHODS
Clinical records of patients with NSCLC treated at our institute from 1982 to 2010 were reviewed with special reference to family history of lung cancer and clinicopathological factors including patient's outcome. Univariate analyses of the factors between the groups of FHLC and non-FHLC were performed using unpaired two-tailed t tests or the chi-square test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the hazard ratio of death.


RESULTS
Of the 1013 NSCLC patients, 124 (12.2%) had a FHLC of whom 119 (96%) were the first-degree relatives. The frequency of early stages of lung cancer was high in both groups of FHLC and non-FHLC patients. Patients with FHLC had a significantly higher frequency of early pathological stages and a prepomderance of adenocarcinoma, and a hazard ratio of death of 0.870 (95% confidence interval: 0.599-1.263, p value: 0.465) compared with the non-FHLC patients.


CONCLUSIONS
NSCLC patients with FHLC could be characterized by early pathological stages and preponderance of adenocarcinoma, however they were not at a decreased hazard ratio of death. These findings emphasize the importance of early detection of lung cancer and employment of less invasive therapeutic interventions.
Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. shuji@nms.ac.jp
Shuji
S
Haraguchi
Kiyoshi
K
Koizumi
Iwao
I
Mikami
Okamoto
O
Junichi
Yoshihito
Y
Iijima
Takayuki
T
Ibi
Kazuo
K
Shimizu
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000077192:Adenocarcinoma of Lung; D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015996:Survival Rate