Fifty-year trend in incidence rates of bronchogenic carcinoma by cell type in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

An earlier report suggested that incidence rates of primary bronchogenic carcinoma had leveled off for men in Olmsted County, MN. Extension of that study to cover 50 years in this midwestern community now shows that lung cancer incidence continues to increase in both sexes, with rates in women approaching those found in men 20 years ago. This increase was seen for all cell types of bronchogenic carcinoma. Because one pathologist reevaluated tissues, changing histologic classifications were not responsible for secular trends; nor were the results influenced by referral bias inasmuch as the study was population based.