Smoking and smoking cessation in relation to the development of co-existing non-small cell lung cancer with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Previous studies have identified a mixed-phenotype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with co-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although NSCLC and COPD share a common risk factor in smoking, whether and how smoking may contribute to the coexistence of NSCLC with COPD (NSCLC-COPD) is unclear. Our study suggests that cigarette smoking is the major risk factor for the development of NSCLC-COPD, especially in females and among patients with squamous cell carcinoma subtype.

Keywords: cigarette smoking; co-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; non-small cell lung cancer; risk; smoking cessation.

Figure 1

The dose-response analysis between smoking (pack-years) and risks of NSCLC-COPD, NSCLC-COPD in males, NSCLC-COPD in females, ADC-COPD, and SQCC-COPD, with cubic spline models. The solid line and the grey area represent the estimated relative risk (log OR) and it’s 95% confidence interval of the nonlinear relationship, respectively.