Abstract
BACKGROUND: In recent years, lung cancer incidence has been increasing; however the impact of different histological types of lung cancer is not yet clear. METHODS: Trends in the lung cancer incidence rate by histological type were examined based on data of 36 658 primary lung cancer patients from West China Hospital between 1995 and 2015. RESULTS: The most common histological type of lung cancer in our hospital was adenocarcinoma (ADC) in both genders, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SQCC), and small cell carcinoma (SCLC), which is consistent with general worldwide trends. The proportion of young patients with SCLC showed a downward trend. In the overall population with lung cancer, the number of elderly patients with lung cancer increased significantly, while the proportion of elderly patients increased gradually. The mean age at diagnosis also increased. The number of women with ADC increased sharply in recent years, especially in young patients, and the incidence rate in women is now greater than in men. CONCLUSION: Significant increases in the number of patients with ADC and the rate of lung cancer in women over recent years were observed, indicating that research on the pathogenesis of disease in these patients is urgent.