Introduction:

COPD and lung cancer are major health problems worldwide due to tobacco use.  They are the leading causes of death in our time. Both diseases can coexist but the impact of each on the other is very little studied.

Objectives:

Compare the clinical, histopathological, radiological and therapeutic characteristics and course of lung cancer patients with and without COPD.

Methods:

Retrospective study including 127 patients hospitalized for lung cancer in pulmonary department 1 of Abderrahmane Mami hospital, between 2010 and 2021. The population was divided into two groups: G1: patients with COPD (n=27) and G2: patients without COPD (n=100).

Results:

Patients in G1 were older (65 ± 10 years vs 60 ±10 years) without significant correlation with sex or active smoking.  Patients in G2 complained more of headache (p=0.0036). There is no difference between the two groups regarding histological type. According to the 7th TNM classification, T4 and N3 and stage IV were found more in G2 (p=0.005, p=0.003 and p=0.004 respectively). The number of metastasis was higher in G2. CT scan showed more pleural effusion (p=0.034), mediastinal nodes (p=0.002), and mediastinal invasion (p=0.029) in G2. The delay between the onset of symptoms and the confirmation of the diagnosis was longer in G1 patients (p=0.011). Patients in G2 received more mono-chemotherapy (p=0.008) with less hematologic toxicity (p=0.019). The occurrence of venous thromboembolism or death was similar between the 2 groups.

Conclusion:

Patients with lung cancer and COPD seem to be older presenting with a more localized and less invasive tumor. Diagnostic confirmation seems to be more delayed without impact on mortality.