Lung Cancer in Women, a Different Disease: Survival Differences by Sex in Turkey

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of sex-based non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)varieties on survival rates. Materials and
Methods: A retrospective study was performed in patients with NSCLCwho were diagnosed by histological methods between the years 2000 and 2010. A chi-square test was used tocompare variables. Overall survival (OS) was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results: Of the 844patients, 117 (13.9%) were women and 727 (86.1%) were men. Adenocarcinoma was more common in womenthan in men (p<0.0001). There were more women non-smokers than men (p<0.0001). There was no statisticallysignificant difference in ECOG PS, weight loss>10%, stage, LDH, albumin and treatment between women andmen. Women younger than 65 years (17.0 vs 12.0 months; p=0.03), who had adenocarcinoma histology (15.0 vs10.0 months; p=0.006) and who had a hemoglobin level ≥12g/dL (18.0 vs 12.0 months; p=0.01) were found to havea better median OS rate than men. Median OS rates were found to be 13.0 months in females and 12.0 monthsin males (p=0.14). Among metastatic patients, the median OS was 11.0 months in females and 8.0 months inmales (p=0.005). Among stage IIIB and stage IV patients who had first line platinum-based chemotherapy, themedian OS was 17.0 months in women and 11.0 months in men (p=0.002). The response rate of chemotherapywas higher in women than in men (p=0.03).
Conclusions: In our study, we found that survival duration is longerand chemotherapy response is better in women with NSCLC who do not have anemia or comorbidities and whoare mostly non-smokers with adenocarcinomas. Further studies regarding the causes of these differences mayprovide clarity on this subject.