Pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer: simultaneous and sequential occurrence

We retrospectively evaluated 1004 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in our hospital between the years 2013-2017. Simultaneous cases of lung cancer and TB were reviewed in terms of age, sex, type of cancer, treatment, and stage of disease. Thirty-six patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer associated with 1004 patients were studied. Of 36 patients, 35 were males. Mean age was 61. Concomitant malignancy was detected; 3 as small cell carsinoma, 9 as adenocarcinoma, 23 as squamouscell carsinoma and 1 as non-small cell lung carcinoma. Twenty-eight cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed as sputum ARB positivity, 7 cases were bronchial aspiration and 2 cases were tuberculosis pleurisy thoracentesis. Despite being common in both lung cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis in Turkey it was rare to be seen together. Because they cause similar clinical and radiological findings, when one develops in the same patient simultaneously, one of the diseases is likely to be missed. Differential diagnosis should be considered in patients with progressive lung cancer and tuberculosis who can not get the expected response despite effective treatment.