Pulmonary complication of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The main lines of treatment of lung cancer are chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Objective The aim was to identify pulmonary complications following the administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer. Patients and methods This prospective cohort study included 50 adult patients with diagnosed lung cancers, who were scheduled to undergo chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Patients were divided into three groups (group 1: patients with no complications at the end of follow-up, group 2: patients who developed pulmonary complications, and group 3: patients with extrapulmonary complications). Baseline and post-treatment laboratories and radiological data were recorded for all patients during the 6-month follow-up period. Results A 64% of participants were men, and the mean age was 54.2±10.2 years. Interestingly, 54% of the included participants were never smokers and 8% were ex-smokers. The majority of patients (80%) received either chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The most commonly administrated chemotherapy was gemcitabine carboplatin. By the end of follow-up, 28% of the patients developed pulmonary infection, whereas 10% of the patients developed pulmonary embolism (one patient developed pulmonary embolism with respiratory failure). The mortality rate was 18%. There was a statistically significant difference between the complicated and noncomplicated groups in terms of basic characteristics pulmonary function test (P Conclusion In conclusion, the incidence of pulmonary complications among adult patients with lung cancer who receive different modalities is high. The most commonly encountered complications are pulmonary infections and pulmonary embolism.