ABSTRACT
Bronchogenic carcinoma is one of the major etiologies of hemoptysis. Although hemopty sis occurs in only 10-30% of lung cancer cases, it is fear of lung cancer that often leads patients with hemoptysis to seek medical assistance. The typical pattern of hemoptysis from bronchogenic carcinoma is streaking of the sputum with blood for at least 10-14 days or longer. Usually cancers resulting in hemoptysis are endobronchial and fairly cen trally located in the airway; thus squamous-and small-cell carcinomas are particularly common. Hemoptysis is the initial presenting manifestation of lung cancer in a relatively small percentage of patients, but because lung cancer now has such a high incidence, it still is relatively common, and excluding it is a very important consideration. Several studies indicate that patients with significant smoking history or age above 35-40 years should be carefully worked up to exclude bronchogenic carcinoma, even in the presence of a normal chest radiograph.
