[Lung cancer and COPD - growing clinical problem]

A spread of the addiction of tobacco smoking is valued on near 1 billion of people in the world, that involves growing number of morbidity and mortality by the reason of smoke related diseases. Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the most serious and incurable diseases which are leading to a permanent disability as well as to premature death. There are factors that naturally increase the vulnerability of an individual on the coincidence of above disorders, such as pathophysiological conditions, systemic inflammation, bronchitis, emphysema, respiratory obstructive disease and precise genetic predispositions for COPD and lung cancer. The harmful substances of the tobacco smoke are the causes of the development of diseases outside the group of respiratory disorders which affects the greater scope of comorbidity among this patient group in comparison to the normal population. The similarity of the clinical picture of lung cancer and COPD may cause numerous problems for a proper and prompt diagnosis and the implementation of the appropriate treatment. On the other hand, it is evident that the patients with COPD are carefully examined and often diagnosed with cancer while those who already suffer from cancer and undertake additional function testing are in 40-50% diagnosed with COPD. The coexistance of these two diseases influences the therapeutic procedure: COPD limits the possibilities of a radical lung cancer treatment which is determined by the general health condition and the respiratory system insufficiency as far as COPD patients are concerned. The knowledge of common pathogenesis both of cancer and COPD and the mutual relations between them shall positively affect the diagnostic and therapeutic process in the high-risk patient groups.