Premium
THE ASSOCIATION OF LUNG CANCER AND TUBERCULOSIS
Author(s) -
CAMPBELL ALASTAIR H.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1961.10.2.129
Subject(s) - lung cancer , tuberculosis , medicine , lung , cancer , lung disease , disease , pulmonary tuberculosis , demography , oncology , pathology , sociology
Summary As part of an investigation of the relationship between pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer, 6502 ex‐servicemen with tuberculosis were reviewed during various periods in three Australian States for a total of 25,827 “man‐years”. The number of deaths from various causes was compared with the number of expected deaths calculated from the age‐specific mortality rates of each disease classification in each of the three States. The tuberculous group had an excess mortality from certain chest conditions (59 actual deaths, 29 expected, P =0.00008), from certain heart diseases (85 observed deaths, 44 expected, P =0.0000r) and from lung cancer (34 actual deaths, 13 expected, P =0.0005). The excess deaths from lung cancer were spread proportionately throughout the usual age groups. In the majority, tuberculosis had been inactive for at least a year prior to the first appearance of the lung cancer. Fourteen of the 24 patients with lung cancer in Victoria and Queensland had available adequate X‐ray films prior to the development of the lung cancer. The maximum involvement of tuberculosis and the site of the lung cancer were charted according to the lung zones involved. Lung cancer arose more frequently in the 38 involved zones (11 cases) than in the 46 uninvolved zones (3 cases). The difference was significant (0.02 > P >0.01). After consideration of other likely explanations, it is possible to suggest that pulmonary tuberculosis has a causal effect on lung cancer, and this effect may be through such non‐specific changes as scarring or metaplasia of the bronchial mucosa.