A 30-year review of lung cancers from Kingston and St Andrew, Jamaica, shows a progressive shift in the distribution of histological subtypes, mirroring similar trends that have been documented worldwide.

The burden of malignancy in adolescents and young adults in Jamaica is greater in females. In both genders, increasing age is accompanied by increased incidence rates and a progressive shift from non-epithelial to epithelial malignancies. This shift occurs earlier in females.

A high proportion of soft tissue sarcomas in Jamaica are unclassified and the anatomical distribution of common classified sarcomas shows some differences with the literature. Limited access to immunohistochemistry/ molecular diagnostics and increasing core biopsy diagnosis may contribute to these phenomena.