Lung cancer patients with cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases

Cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD) and cancer are the leading causes of death for humans. The aim of this study was to demonstrate clinicopathological features of lung cancer patients with CCVD. Nine hundred and sixty-six patients with lung cancer were consecutively admitted to our division over a 24-year period. Among them, 254 (26.3%) patients were diagnosed as having CCVD based on medical records. One hundred and ninety-one were men and 143 were 70 years of age or older. There was a difference in smoking habit (p=0.0029) and 30 pack year or more history of smoking (p<0.0001) between lung cancer patients with or without CCVD. Among the 254 patients, 97 patients had stage IA-IIIA disease, however, 27 patients received chest irradiation or supportive care because of coexistence of CCVD. In 157 patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, 58 patients had less intensive therapy. In multivariate analysis, existence of CCVD in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was proven to be a prognostic factor (p=0.0466). Our results imply that existing CCVD do adversely affect the outcome of NSCLC. When we decide whether or not to offer an intensive therapy which may increase treatment-related mortality, patients' medical condition including CCVD should be taken into consideration.