COPD Associated With Lung Cancer Risk

In people who have never smoked, COPD is linked to a heightened risk of lung cancer, stated new research.

In people who have never smoked, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, stated research published in the journal Thorax. The risk is on a par with that of smokers without chronic lung //disease, the findings indicate.

COPD is an umbrella term for respiratory conditions that narrow the airways, such as bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking is the main risk factor for COPD, which itself is associated with a heightened risk of developing lung cancer.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
COPD includes respiratory tract disorders that cause obstruction to airflow. These are chronic bronchitis, emphysema and small airway disease.

But up to 39% of people who develop COPD have never smoked, and it's not clear what their risk of lung cancer is, because most of the studies looking at this have included too few participants.

To explore this further, the researchers drew on data from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) National Sample Cohort study, involving a representative sample of Korean citizens.

For the purposes of the current study, the researchers included 338,548 men (146,996) and women (191,552) between the ages of 40 and 84, with no history of lung cancer, who had had at least one health check provided by NHIS between 2002 and 2013.

Quiz on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects millions of people worldwide and is responsible for numerous deaths due to complications. Here is a quiz on the various aspects of COPD.

Their health was tracked for an average of 7 years, based on inpatient and outpatient treatment and prescriptions issued.

During this monitoring period, 1834 participants developed lung cancer. In 290 cases, the person had COPD, but in 1544 cases, the person didn't.

Lung Cancer - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Lung cancer is a malignant tumor in the lung tissues. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer with symptoms like recurrent respiratory diseases.

But after taking account of potentially influential factors, among those who had never smoked, people with COPD were more than 2.5 times as likely to develop lung cancer as those without COPD, the data analysis showed.

What's more, the risk of lung cancer in those with COPD, but who had never smoked, was on a par with that of smokers without COPD, the findings indicate.

The Lungs
The lungs are our organs of respiration. It is within these, that exchange of gases takes place.

"Given that poor lung function in COPD is often a barrier to optimal lung cancer treatment due to increased risk of treatment related morbidities, our study suggests that early detection of lung cancer in COPD patients may reduce the risk of treatment complications," write the researchers.

They acknowledge that the severity of COPD wasn't assessed, nor were they able to glean information on environmental and occupational exposures, all of which may have influenced the development of lung cancer.

Nevertheless, they suggest their findings indicate that COPD is a strong independent risk factor for lung cancer.

"Future studies should evaluate whether COPD patients are candidates for lung cancer screening, irrespective of smoking status," they conclude.

Source-Eurekalert