Abstract

Background: A portion of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present at a younger age (40 years),despite the fact that the median age at diagnosis of NSCLC is 70 years. Little is known regarding the temporal trends in NSCLC incidence in young people, their traits, and outcomes.

Methods: To gather NSCLC cases from 1978 to 2010, the surveillance, epidemiology, and end outcomes database was consulted. Annual incidence rates were evaluated for different age groups, racial groups,disease sites, histologies, treatment regimens, and results. We created Kaplan-Meyer survival curves with age-specific stratification.

Results: From 1978 to 2010, young patients made up 0.6% of new cases of NSCLC. During this time, there was a considerable decrease in the incidence of young NSCLC. Young NSCLCs were more likely to have adenocarcinoma histology (59%), a higher percentage of women (51% Asians or Pacific Islanders (14 percent), and distant metastases when they were first diagnosed (68%). Black race was a poor predictor of future health among the young, in contrast to the general population.

Conclusion: From 1978 to 2010, there was a decline in the prevalence of NSCLC in young people. Younger patients' clinical aspects of NSCLC, such as demographic distribution, treatment, and prognosis, differ from those seen in older patients.