Epidemiology

Though the true incidence and prevalence of central airway obstruction (CAO) is unknown, prompt identification and management of CAO is paramount for therapeutic benefit.[2] If the division of malignant and non-malignant tracheobronchial obstruction is made, the current epidemiology of lung cancer suggests that malignant obstruction is more frequently observed.[22][23][24]​​

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the US. For the year 2024, the American Cancer Society estimated the number of new cases of lung cancer to be 234,580, resulting in 125,070 deaths.​[25]​​ Globally, lung cancer accounts for over 1.8 million deaths per year in 2020.[26] In the UK, 48,549 new cases of lung cancer were reported between 2016 and 2018 and, between 2017 and 2019, 34,771 deaths from lung cancer occurred.[27]​ Lung cancer is also still the leading cause of cancer death in the UK.

Approximately 20% to 30% of patients with lung cancer will develop clinical features and complications associated with airway obstruction (e.g., atelectasis, post-obstructive pneumonia, dyspnoea), and up to 40% of deaths may be due to progression of loco-regional disease.[2] Approximately 80,000 cases of malignant airway obstruction are treated annually in the US.[28]

There are also few epidemiological data on non-malignant airway stenosis. The epidemiology of non-malignant tracheobronchial obstruction is likely to be largely dependent on its aetiology. Post-tracheostomy tracheal stenosis and post-intubation tracheal stenosis appear to be the most common benign strictures, followed by idiopathic and autoimmune causes.[1][29]

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