Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with lung cancer: Prevalence, severity, and common pathogenesis

Abstract

Objectives: To develop a clinical prediction model of contribution of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to the pathogenesis of lung cancer, by reporting the estimated prevalence and severity by GOLD criteria in a single-institution cohort of patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. Primary objective was investigating the effects of impaired lung function with various histological cell types on crude survival, while considering the initial staging of disease extent. Materials & methods: A total of 441 patients, in this historical cohort from electronic medical records, completed spirometry prior to invasive diagnostic procedures and initial treatment of their lung cancer. All statistical analyses, including ANOVA and survival analysis, were performed using SAS version 9.1 software. Results: Estimated prevalence of COPD was 79.1% (95% confidence interval: 71.3%-82.9%). Lung function as measured by spirometry was a significant predictor of survival time in months (p