Prevalence of COPD in Patients with Lung Cancer

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs worldwide. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and is the leading cause of cancer mortality, accounting for almost 25% of all cancer deaths. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of COPD in patients with lung cancer (LC).

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. Consecutive patients with suspected LC in a respiratory clinic were studied. The method of verification of the lung abnormalities (fibrobronchoscopy and/or transthoracic biopsy) was performed. Postbronchodilator spirometry was performed. An FEV1/FVC ratio < 0.7 was diagnostic for the presence of COPD. The association between the presence of COPD and LC with other routine tests (laboratory tests, blood gas analysis, CT) was also analyzed.

Results: A total of 65 patients with verified LC were included. 48.4% of the LC patients in this study had COPD. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of COPD in the different subgroups of non-small cell cancer: unspecified non-small cell cancer – 62.5%, squamous cell cancer – 50%, adenocarcinoma – 45.8% (p = 0.33). Patients with COPD and LC had lower FEV1 (56.9 vs. 70.5%, p = 0.01) but not FVC (71.6 vs. 74.6%, p = 0.67). The presence of COPD in LC patients was associated with lower leukocytes (8.8 vs. 11.3 x109, p = 0.018). Squamous cell cancer was associated with a higher number of leukocytes compared to adenocarcinoma (11.0 vs. 8.4 x109, p = 0.026), although smoking showed no clear association with histology.

Conclusion: Nearly half (48.4%) of the patients with LC also had COPD.