Lung cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was reported to be associated with incr eased risk of lung cancer as a result of the occurrence of atypical or dysp lastic epithelial changes in fibrosis which progressed to invasive malignan cy. In that situation, the cancer will develop in the area of major fibrosi s, To investigate the direct relationship between fibrosis and cancer devel opment, the real concordance rate of the two lesions in the chest computed tomography (CT) was analysed and compared to the histological types of lung cancer. The subjects included 63 patients, with combined lung cancer and IPF (IPF-C A), 218 patients with lone IPF, and 2,660 patients with primary lung cancer . All patients were diagnosed at Asan Medical Center during the same period . The age, percentage of smokers, and the male sea were significantly higher in IPF-CA compared with lone IPF, The odds ratio of smoking was 2.71 compar ed to nonsmoking IPF controls. In IPF-CA, 56% of the cancer was located in the periphery of the lung and 52%, in the upper lobe. The majority of the c ancers (64%) were found in the nonfibrotic area at chest CT. The most frequ ent cell type was squamous cell carcinoma (35%), and there was no significa nt difference in the cancer cell type between IPF-CA and total lung cancer population. These findings suggest that in combined lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonar y fibrosis patients, the features of the lung cancer are similar to the tot al lung cancer population.