Effects of age on the association between pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer in a South Korean cohort

BACKGROUND: Various studies have investigated the association between pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer However, how the relationship between TB and lung cancer may differ by age is not yet clear. This study investigated how risk for lung cancer after pulmonary TB may differ by age. METHODS: This study used the National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort in South Korea. We compared 3,776 pulmonary TB patients with 18,880 controls matched for sex and age during the period from 2003 to 2013. We analyzed the incidence of lung cancer after diagnosis of active pulmonary TB. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of lung cancer after adjusting for sex, age, house income, and smoking status. RESULTS: Among 3,776 pulmonary TB patients, 86 had lung cancer diagnoses, whereas there were 108 lung cancer patients among 18,880 controls. The incidence rate ratio in the pulmonary TB group was 12.26 within 1 year and 3.33 at 1–3.9 years after TB infection, compared to the control group. There was increased risk for lung cancer in pulmonary TB patients compared to controls (HR, 4.18; 95% CI, 3.15–5.56). Compared to patients <50 years of age, the risks for lung cancer were HR 9.85, 7.1, 3.32, and 2.57 in patients aged 50–59, 60–69, and ≥70 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary TB is a risk factor for lung cancer. Patients with pulmonary TB should be monitored for subsequent development of lung cancer, particularly in younger patients.