Carcinoid tumor of the bronchus and lung: A nationwide cross-sectional study.

Abstract

e20645 Background: Carcinoid tumor of the lung is a rare neuroendocrine tumor (NET), little is known of the in-hospital characteristics of this tumor. This study aims to describe the characteristics of patients hospitalized with NET of the bronchus and lung. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of patients with lung carcinoid tumors admitted to acute care from 2016 to 2020. Data is derived from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS). The patients were divided into two groups: malignant and benign carcinoid tumors of the bronchus and lung. Patients' characteristics were described, including demographics, hospital length of stay (Los), and total cost. Mortality and common comorbidities were included. Hypothesis testing for categorical variables were tested with Chi-Square. Continuous variables were tested with a Student t-test. Statistical significance was defined as a two-tailed P value of < 0.05. Results: A total of 13,335 admissions were identified over a period of 5 years, but only 1,810 of them met inclusion criteria. The elderly population was the most affected group, with a mean age of 60 years (Malignant 61 versus Benign 52; p 0.001). There was a trend of female predominance, representing 57% vs 42% of males ( p 0.727). White patients constituted the majority of the population (72%), followed by Black (13%) and Hispanics (10%), with a minority of Native Americans and Asian/ Pacific Islanders ( p 0.016). Medicare was the most frequent primary payer (50%, p 0.015). No difference in household distribution ( p 0.138), hospital teaching status ( p 0.743) hospital region ( p 357) or hospital bed size (0.273) were noted. However, the majority of the admissions were to private-non-profit facilities, accounting for 78% ( p 0.003). Mean LoS was 7.4 days ( p 0.021). On subgroup analysis, the malignant carcinoid tumor of the lung was predominant, with 1,490 malignant carcinoid tumors of the lung and bronchus compared to 329 benign carcinoid tumors of the bronchus and lung. Affection by comorbidities like CAD and COPD was significantly associated with a carcinoid tumor of the lung (17% malignant carcinoid tumor of the lung and bronchus and 5% benign carcinoid tumor of the lung and bronchus p 0.003 and 24% malignant carcinoid tumor of the lung and bronchus and 11% benign carcinoid tumor of the lung and bronchus, p 0.008 respectively). All deaths (n = 90) were observed in the malignant carcinoid lung tumor group. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study of patients with NET of the bronchus and lung admitted to acute care, we found that patients over the age of 50 and Whites were the most affected, with patients with malignant tumors being older. As expected, Medicare was the most frequent primary payer. In addition, COPD and CAD were not uncommon among both groups.