While COPD is traditionally associated with smoking, new research points to the illness as a substantial risk factor for lung cancer among those who have never smoked. The study, “Inflammatory Diseases and Risk of Lung Cancer Among Individuals Who Have Never Smoked,” was published in Nature Communications.
The researchers wrote that while lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) is a leading cause of death, there are no screening programs for this particular population. Using data from the United Kingdom’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink, they looked at more than 1,500 LCNIS cases and more than 14,000 never smokers as part of a control group.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study of LCINS risk,” the researchers wrote.
Among the previously reported risk factors, the study found that “the strongest and most consistent association observed in this study was for COPD/emphysema.”
More than 50% of all COPD cases globally occur in people who have never smoked, the researchers reported. This can be explained by other risk factors such as childhood respiratory diseases, air pollution and occupational exposures.
Several other conditions that previously had no evidence supporting a relationship with lung cancer were also identified in the study, including anemia, gastritis and GERD.
