Lung cancer: a snapshot of patients entering the public health system, staging, and mortality rates

Keywords

lung cancer - survival rate - public health system

The estimated incidence of trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer in Brazil for each year of the 2023-2025 triennium corresponds to an estimated risk of 17.06 new cases per 100,000 men and 13.15 per 100,000 women. Lung cancer diagnosis is generally late, as initial symptoms are nonspecific, which contributes to the increased risk of death in this population. This study aimed to determine the histopathological profile and staging of patients with lung and pleural cancer who enter an Oncology Service of the Unified Health System (SUS) in Rio de Janeiro, as well as to estimate the percentage of deaths occurring during the evaluated period. The study included patients with histopathology and immunohistochemistry-confirmed diagnoses of lung and pleural cancer from January 2022 to September 2023. Data for all patients were recorded in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and later analyzed for the frequency of observed variables. As of February 2024, the percentage of deaths during the period was recorded. A total of 115 patients with confirmed histopathological diagnoses of lung and pleural cancer were included in the study. The majority were female (54.8%) with an average age of 65 years. Non-small cell lung cancer was the most common histopathological type (83.5%), followed by small cell lung cancer (15.5%) and pleural mesothelioma (1%). Among non-small cell lung cancer subtypes, adenocarcinomas were the most common (63.5%), followed by squamous cell carcinomas (30.2%). For small cell lung cancer subtypes, the majority were small cell carcinomas (77.7%), with the remainder being high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas (22.3%). Most patients entering the specialized clinical oncology service were at stage IV (67%), followed by stage III (22.6%), stage II (8.7%), and stage I (1.7%). All patients in stages I and II were alive at the time of survival assessment; however, the majority of patients with stage III (61.5%) and stage IV (64.9%) had died. The high mortality rate found in this study is a warning sign for the country's public health system. The advanced staging at which patients arrive at specialized health services significantly impacts the mortality rate, indicating the urgent need for public policies that promote prevention, facilitate the diagnosis of lung cancer, and improve access for patients with confirmed disease to specialized health services.

Corresponding author: Ana Lúcia Crissiuma de Azevedo Juppa (e-mail: [e-mail]).

 

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No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
06 May 2025