Lung Cancer In Copd

COPD and lung cancer are the commonest burdens to many health services throughout the world and, as a consequence, much has been learnt of their interdependence, epidemiology and optimal management. COPD and lung cancer are strongly associated and coexist in a large number of patients. Smoking is still a major public health issue and remains the causal factor for the majority of cases of COPD and lung cancer. Treating lung cancer patients with severe COPD is a clinical challenge for thoracic physicians and warrants a multidisciplinary team approach. In this chapter, we discuss the epidemiological overlap of those two diseases, address the special features of patient management when these two conditions coexist and consider the common underlying link between them.