A 30-year retrospective review of Eases of lung cancer from the Cancer
Registry of the University College Hospital(UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria was
carried out. A total of 142 cases were analysed with a male:female ra
tio of 1.7:1. Peak age incidence in females was 2 decades (4th) earlie
r than for males. Squamous cell carcinoma was found most commonly but
adenocarcinoma predominated in females, Mucoepidermoid and adenoidcyst
ic carcinomas were absent, About 27% of patients were under 40 years o
ld and the majority of these (82%) showed histological variants which
are associated with the bad prognosis (i.e. anaplastic carcinoma, aden
ocarcinoma, small cell tumours and sarcomas, At autopsy regional lymph
nodes were found to be most commonly involved by secondary metastases
while the spinal cord was least involved. The epidemiology of maligna
nt lung rumours in Ibadan probably differs from that in the more indus
trialized countries and this suggests a different view of risk factors
for this environment. Additionally there is an urgent need for develo
ping methods for earlier diagnosis if the mortality associated with th
is disease is to be reduced especially as it occurs predominantly in y
oung people.