Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1742653
Pulmonary Oncology—Scope of the Pulmonologist
Abstract
The International Agency for Research on Cancer GLOBOCAN project has predicted that India's cancer burden will nearly double in the next 20 years, from slightly more than a million new cases in 2012 to more than 1·7 million by 2035. In India, chronic respiratory diseases have emerged as a leading health care burden with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being the second leading cause of deaths and disability-adjusted life years. Patients with COPD are 6.35 times more likely to develop lung cancer. The deadly dual epidemic of “chronic respiratory diseases and cancer” warrants not only prevention but also creating an increased awareness among oncologists as well as pulmonologists to enable early diagnosis and treatment. It would be incorrect to assume that the scope of a pulmonologist in oncology is just diagnosing and treating lung cancer or prescribing chemotherapy for lung cancer. There is a larger world full of opportunities beyond that, and we look at the pulmonologist as a member of a multidisciplinary oncology team working together with the surgical, radiation, and medical oncologist and ancillary specialties to address all the issues highlighted earlier that are faced in oncology practice. The current exposure to pulmonary oncology and related complications during postgraduate training for respiratory medicine in India is limited. It is necessary not only to educate the pulmonologist on their role in an oncology setup but also to increase the awareness across all oncology specialties regarding the pulmonologist's contribution in management of the cancer patient. In this review, written based on our experience gained in our pulmonology service in our tertiary oncology center, we have tried to portray the wide role of the pulmonologist in oncology. We have realized that what is lacking is the basic awareness regarding the above potential, both among pulmonologists and oncologists. Our mission is to take this message across specialists in India, highlighting how we can work synergistically in the fight against cancer.
Publication History
Article published online:
21 February 2022
© 2022. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India
-
References
- 1 Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL. et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021; 71 (03) 209-249
- 2 India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative CRD Collaborators. The burden of chronic respiratory diseases and their heterogeneity across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016. Lancet Glob Health 2018; 6 (12) e1363-e1374
- 3 India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Cancer Collaborators. The burden of cancers and their variations across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016. [published correction appears in Lancet Oncol 2018 Oct 3;] Lancet Oncol 2018; 19 (10) 1289-1306
- 4 Noronha V, Tsomo U, Jamshed A. et al. A fresh look at oncology facts on south central Asia and SAARC countries. South Asian J Cancer 2012; 1 (01) 1-4
- 5 Mathew A. Global survey of clinical oncology workforce. J Glob Oncol 2018; 4: 1-12
- 6 Søgaard M, Thomsen RW, Bossen KS, Sørensen HT, Nørgaard M. The impact of comorbidity on cancer survival: a review. Clin Epidemiol 2013; 5 (Suppl. 01) 3-29
- 7 Gottlieb M, Marsaa K, Godtfredsen NS, Mellemgaard A. Prevalence and management of pulmonary comorbidity in patients with lung and head and neck cancer. Acta Oncol 2015; 54 (05) 767-771
- 8 Mohan A, Mohan C, Pathak AK, Pandey RM, Guleria R. Impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on respiratory status and quality of life in newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer. Respirology 2007; 12 (02) 240-247
- 9 Brenner DR, McLaughlin JR, Hung RJ. Previous lung diseases and lung cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2011; 6 (03) e17479
- 10 Le Jeune I, Gribbin J, West J, Smith C, Cullinan P, Hubbard R. The incidence of cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis in the UK. Respir Med 2007; 101 (12) 2534-2540
- 11 Hubbard R, Venn A, Lewis S, Britton J. Lung cancer and cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis. A population-based cohort study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000; 161 (01) 5-8
- 12 Harris JM, Johnston ID, Rudd R, Taylor AJ, Cullinan P. Cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis and lung cancer: the BTS study. Thorax 2010; 65 (01) 70-76
- 13 Turner-Warwick M, Lebowitz M, Burrows B, Johnson A. Cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis and lung cancer. Thorax 1980; 35 (07) 496-499
- 14 Chiyo M, Sekine Y, Iwata T. et al. Impact of interstitial lung disease on surgical morbidity and mortality for lung cancer: analyses of short-term and long-term outcomes. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003; 126 (04) 1141-1146
- 15 Miyazaki K, Satoh H, Kurishima K. et al. Impact of interstitial lung disease on survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Anticancer Res 2009; 29 (07) 2671-2674
- 16 Kumar P, Goldstraw P, Yamada K. et al. Pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer: risk and benefit analysis of pulmonary resection. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003; 125 (06) 1321-1327
- 17 Park J, Kim DS, Shim TS. et al. Lung cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Eur Respir J 2001; 17 (06) 1216-1219
- 18 Chida M, Kobayashi S, Karube Y. et al. Incidence of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia in operated lung cancer: institutional report and review. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2012; 18 (04) 314-317
- 19 Chida M, Ono S, Hoshikawa Y, Kondo T. Subclinical idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is also a risk factor of postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome following thoracic surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2008; 34 (04) 878-881
- 20 Sato T, Teramukai S, Kondo H. et al; Japanese Association for Chest Surgery. Impact and predictors of acute exacerbation of interstitial lung diseases after pulmonary resection for lung cancer. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2014; 147 (05) 1604-1611.e3
- 21 Fujimoto T, Okazaki T, Matsukura T. et al. Operation for lung cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: surgical contraindication?. Ann Thorac Surg 2003; 76 (05) 1674-1678 , discussion 1679
- 22 Voltolini L, Bongiolatti S, Luzzi L. et al. Impact of interstitial lung disease on short-term and long-term survival of patients undergoing surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer: analysis of risk factors. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2013; 43 (01) e17-e23
- 23 Watanabe A, Higami T, Ohori S, Koyanagi T, Nakashima S, Mawatari T. Is lung cancer resection indicated in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2008; 136 (05) 1357-1363 , 1363.e1–1363.e2
- 24 Macmillan Cancer Support, Royal College of Anaesthetists. National Institute of Health Research - Prehabilitation for people with Cancer
- 25 Simonsen DF, Farkas DK, Horsburgh CR, Thomsen RW, Sørensen HT. Increased risk of active tuberculosis after cancer diagnosis. J Infect 2017; 74 (06) 590-598
- 26 Engels EA, Shen M, Chapman RS. et al. Tuberculosis and subsequent risk of lung cancer in Xuanwei, China. Int J Cancer 2009; 124 (05) 1183-1187
- 27 Dobler CC, Cheung K, Nguyen J, Martin A. Risk of tuberculosis in patients with solid cancers and haematological malignancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Respir J 2017; 50 (02) 1700157
- 28 Wu CY, Hu HY, Pu CY. et al. Aerodigestive tract, lung and haematological cancers are risk factors for tuberculosis: an 8-year population-based study. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2011; 15 (01) 125-130