Researchers have found an association between TB and increased risk for several types of cancer

A population-wide observational study, to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024) in Barcelona, ​​Spain (April 27-30), shows an association between tuberculosis ( TB) and cancer. According to the study, those who have or have had tuberculosis are more likely to be diagnosed with a variety of cancers, including lung, blood, gynecological and colorectal cancer.

Despite the fact that successful cure of tuberculosis is possible, complications can occur at various anatomic sites due to structural or vascular damage, metabolic abnormalities, and the host’s inflammatory response.

These complications may include an increased risk of cancer, which may be influenced by damage to host tissue and DNA or by disruption of normal gene repair processes and growth factors present in the blood.

In this study, authors from Hanyang University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, investigated the association between cancer incidence and TB compared to the general population.

The team retrospectively analyzed national health data from South Korea between 2010 and 2017. TB patients were defined as those with a TB disease code entered into the system or treated with two or more TB drugs for more than for 28 days.

The control group from the general population was randomly selected in a 1:5 ratio and matched by sex, age, income level, residence, and index year.

The authors analyzed the incidence of patients newly diagnosed with cancer after enrollment (after TB diagnosis).

The primary outcome was the incidence of cancer in patients diagnosed with TB infection between 2010 and 2017 compared with the matched cohort.

Secondary outcomes were to investigate risk factors for cancer incidence in TB patients.

The final analysis included a total of 72,542 TB patients and 72,542 matched controls. The mean duration of follow-up was 67 months (about five and a half years), and the mean age of the TB patients was 62 years.

Compared to the general population, cancer incidence was significantly higher in TB patients: 80% higher for all cancers combined; 3.6 times higher for lung cancer, 2.4 times higher for blood (hematological) cancer; 2.2 times higher for gynecological cancer; 57% higher for colorectal cancer; 56% higher for thyroid cancer and 55% higher for esophageal and stomach cancer.

After adjustment, smoking (40% increased risk vs. nonsmokers), heavy alcohol consumption (15% increased risk vs. regular alcohol consumption), chronic liver disease (42% increased risk vs. no liver disease), and disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (8% increased risk) were also identified as independent risk factors for cancer in people with TB.

In the study’s conclusions, the authors say that “TB is an independent risk factor for cancer, not only for lung cancer, but also for various specific cancers, after adjustment for confounding factors. Cancer screening and management should be warranted in patients with TB.”