WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-EP.17.30 Rising Incidence of Early Onset Thoracic Malignant Tumors: Real-World Data From Two Hospitals in Brazil

EP.17.30 Rising Incidence of Early Onset Thoracic Malignant Tumors: Real-World Data From Two Hospitals in Brazil

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This study analyzed the increasing incidence of early-onset thoracic malignant tumors in two hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil, from 2018 to 2023, using retrospective data. Early-onset cancers were defined as diagnoses occurring in adults aged 18 to 49. Thoracic malignancies studied included cancers of the trachea, bronchus, lung, and thymus.<br /><br />Key findings indicated that while the majority of thoracic cancer cases occur in patients aged 50 or older (91%), there is a notable rising trend in early-onset cases (9%). Specifically, the number of thoracic cancer cases in patients under 50 increased by 200% over the study period, a statistically significant rise (p=0.001), compared to a more modest 18% increase among older patients. Interestingly, younger patients had a significantly lower prevalence of smoking history (68%) compared to older patients (82%) (p=0.002), suggesting other risk factors may be contributing to the rise in early-onset thoracic cancers.<br /><br />The study underscores significant personal and societal consequences of this trend, including increased disease burden, loss of productive working years, and long-term health complications. It emphasizes the need for further research to better understand the Brazilian population's risk factors beyond smoking, delineate genomic profiles of these early-onset cases, and develop optimal screening strategies tailored to younger adults.<br /><br />In conclusion, this real-world data corroborates global observations of rising early-onset thoracic malignancies and highlights an urgent call for broader epidemiological and molecular studies to identify causes, improve detection, and ultimately refine prevention and treatment in younger patient populations in Brazil.

Asset Subtitle

Beatriz Miyamura

Meta Tag

Speaker Beatriz Miyamura

Topic Global Health, Health Services, and Health Economics

Keywords

early-onset thoracic cancer

thoracic malignancies Brazil

lung cancer young adults

trachea cancer incidence

bronchus cancer trends

thymus cancer epidemiology

non-smoking risk factors

cancer incidence São Paulo

retrospective cancer study

early-onset cancer screening