Abstract : Despite advances in thoracic oncology, the prevalence of primary bronchopulmonary carcinoma (BPC) has been rising for some years. It still represents the leading cause of cancer mortality among males in Morocco and throughout the globe. The aim of this study is to characterize the epidemiological, clinical, prognostic, anatomopathological and molecular features of lung cancer in patients treated at the oncology center of Sheikh Zaid International University Hospital in Rabat. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 158 cases of primary BPC, that were reported at the oncology center of the Sheikh Zaid international university hospital in Rabat. In our cohort, the male preponderance was clearly observed with 140 men (88.6%) versus 18 women (11.4%), with a sex ratio of 7.8 men to one woman. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 63.7±10.1 years with extremes of age ranging from 16 to 87 years. The age group between 60 and 69 years represents 48.11% of patients. Smoking was found in 96 patients, i.e. 60.8% of the population studied, including 2 patients who also used cannabis. Alcoholism was found in 32 patients (20.3%). The tobacco-alcohol association was noted in 31 patients, i.e. 19.6%. Diabetes, AHT and tuberculosis were the personal medical history most associated with lung cancer with rates of 15.18%, 14.55% and 5.69% respectively. Chest pain was the dominant symptom in 43 subjects being 27.21%, followed by dyspnea in 18.89% of cases, cough in 17.08% of cases, hemoptysis in 8.86% of cases, weight loss in 6.96% of cases and dysphonia in 3.16% of cases. A significant association (p-value<0.001) was found between the manifestation of chest pain and smoking in men. The tumors were mostly located in the right lung, 42.40% of cases, followed by the left lung accounting with 38.60% of cases. The most frequent histological type was adenocarcinoma (58.86%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (19.62%) and small cell carcinoma (7.59%). Secondary localizations were objectified, mainly bone (20.88%) and brain (18.89%). EGFR mutation was frequent (23.07% of all patients diagnosed), despite the low number of patients who could perform molecular tests. In the light of the present work, our results are broadly in accordance with the findings of other national and international studies. However, despite its usefulness in the early detection of BPC, molecular diagnostics are still seriously limited in Morocco. As a result, tobacco control measures are critical for lowering the prevalence of this disease..
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