Characteristics of lung cancer patients and controls recruited into European Early Lung Cancer project
| Characteristic | Patients# | Control |
| Subjects n | 922 | 1524 |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 674 (73.2) | 1105 (72.6) |
| Female | 247 (26.8) | 418 (27.4) |
| Ethnicity | ||
| White - European | 838 (97.4) | 1472 (96.8) |
| White - Other | 10 (1.2) | 18 (1.2) |
| Other | 12 (1.4) | 30 (2.0) |
| Smoking status | ||
| Never | 53 (6.2) | 424 (28.1) |
| Former | 466 (54.5) | 645 (42.7) |
| Current | 336 (39.3) | 440 (29.2) |
| Occupational asbestos exposure | ||
| No or unsure | 667 (79.3) | 1343 (89) |
| Yes | 174 (20.7) | 166 (11) |
| Education level | ||
| Low | 648 (80) | 1033 (68.5) |
| High¶ | 162 (20) | 474 (31.5) |
| Continuous variables | ||
| Age yrs | 64.6±9.2 | 62.9±9.5 |
| Tobacco consumption pack-yrs | 41±25 | 22.2±24 |
| Total smoking duration yrs | 38.5±15.2 | 23.7±19.5 |
| Histology | ||
| Squamous | 392 (42.8) | |
| Adenocarcinoma | 412 (45) | |
| Large cell | 45 (4.9) | |
| Mixed | 11 (1.2) | |
| NSCLC unspecified | 55 (6) | |
| Tumour stage at presentation | ||
| N undetermined | 37 (4.2) | |
| I | 552 (62) | |
| II | 221 (24.8) | |
| III | 81 (9.1) | |
| IV | 0 (0) | |
| Progressive disease+ | 163 (22.1) | |
| Length of follow-up months+ | 18 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. NSCLC: nonsmall cell lung cancer. #: includes patients with at least one sample available from tumour, biopsy, bronchial washing, sputum and blood; ¶: first degree, higher degree, professional qualification or university entrance; +: in November 2007.