
Interstitial lung abnormality (ILA), which has been recognized as a significant factor in the development of pulmonary conditions including COPD, is inversely associated with lung cancer comorbidity in COPD patients. That’s according to a study from researchers at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, and published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.
According to the study, researchers looked at 1,131 patients diagnosed with COPD and divided them into two groups based on the presence of ILA. Subsequent analysis of the data looked at disparities between the two groups in demographic, clinical and laboratory profiles along with comorbid conditions.
Out of the total number of patients, 165 (14.6%) had ILA. The only statistically significant difference between the patients with and without ILA was found to be levels of circulating fibrinogen and procalcitonin. Despite this, the researchers wrote, there was a notable discrepancy in the prevalence of multiple comorbidities.
Patients presenting with ILA showed a diminished prevalence of lung cancer. In addition, the presence of ILA in COPD was positively associated with heart failure and other types of cancer.
“Unexpectedly, the presence of ILA was associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer comorbidity in patients with COPD,” the researchers wrote. “This contrasts with previous findings in the general population, where ILA has been suggested as a risk factor for lung cancer.”