Stima del numero di casi incidenti e prevalenti di tumore del polmone non a piccole cellule, per istotipo, nelle regioni italiane

Summary

The objective of this epidemiological evaluation was to estimate regional and national incidence and prevalence of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Italy, as a tool both for oncologists and health decision-makers. We were able to provide an estimate of incidence and prevalence of three major histological subtypes of NSCLC — squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma — in 2008, accessing to the AIRTUM databank, which gathers data from 23 local cancer registries and three specialized cancer registers. The analysis considered the entire Italian population aged 0–84 years.

With this study we were able to obtain the following estimated data for national incidence of each of the considered NSCLC histological subtypes: adenocarcinoma 33.9% in males and 46.1% in females; squamous cell carcinoma 28.5% in males and 16% in females; large cell carcinoma 2.6% in males and 2.9% in females.

National prevalence estimate data resulted in a total of 76,116 cases, of which 57,953 in males and 16,163 in females. Among males, histological subtypes prevalence was distributed as follows: 47.6% squamous cell carcinoma, 44.9% adenocarcinoma, and 2.5% large cell carcinoma. In women adenocarcinomas represented 70% of prevalent NSCLC cases, squamous cell carcinomas 20.9%, and large cell carcinomas 1.9%.