Lung cancer incidence among adults after pulmonary TB

SUMMARY BACKGROUND The association between TB and the increased risk of lung cancer has been described, but it has not been investigated in a Latin American cohort. We therefore estimated the risk of lung cancer and associated sociodemographic factors in a cohort with pulmonary TB in Chile. METHODS Retrospective nationwide cohort of population aged >10 years with pulmonary TB between 2019 to 2021. We estimated the risk and risk ratio of lung cancer in the first two years of follow-up, compared to the general population, and the sociodemographic factors associated with increased risk using a log-binomial model. RESULTS 5,456 cases were included, 65.4% male and 77.1% Chilean. The risk ratio of lung cancer was 3.4 and 1.9 in the first and second years of follow-up. Factors associated with a significantly increased risk include being over 50 years of age and being incarcerated. CONCLUSION There is an increased risk of lung cancer in the Chilean adult population after pulmonary TB. More research is needed to understand post-TB lung health.