Digital clubbing and lung cancer

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the relative frequency of clubbing in small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) versus non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).

Design: Examine patients with lung cancer for digital clubbing and relate the findings to the histopathologic subtype of lung cancer.

Setting: Cancer center at a tertiary teaching hospital.

Patients or participants: One hundred and eleven consecutive patients with a pathological diagnosis of lung cancer examined by one physician (KSS).

Interventions: None.

Measurements and results: Clubbing was present in 32 (29%) of the 111 patients with lung cancer. Clubbing was more common in women (40%) than in men (19%; chi2 test p = 0.011), and was more common in patients with NSCLC (35%) than those with SCLC (4%; chi2 test p = 0.0036).

Conclusion: In a prospective study, digital clubbing was less frequently observed in men than women and in patients with SCLC than NSCLC. These clinical observations may assist in the initial evaluation of patients for planning workup and therapy.