Lung cancer mimicking pulmonary tuberculosis in a TB-endemic country: the role of early invasive diagnostic procedures

Abstract

SUMMARY  Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of early invasive diagnostic procedures on detecting lung cancers that mimic pulmonary TB. Patients & methods: Patients with an initial diagnosis of pulmonary TB, which was later revised to lung cancer, were included. Patients were classified into early and late intervention groups. Clinical characteristics, chest radiographic images, diagnostic procedures and outcomes were analyzed. Results: There were 53 patients with a revised diagnosis of lung cancer included. The time between diagnoses of TB and cancer for the early and late intervention group was 1.1 ± 1.1 and 5.5 ± 10.2 months, respectively (p = 0.01). For patients with advanced stage lung cancer, those received early interventions survived longer than those that did not receive early interventions (10.3 vs 3.3 months; p = 0.89). Conclusion: In a TB-endemic area, invasive diagnostic procedures may be helpful to avoid a misdiagnosis in patients with lung cancer mimicking pulmonary TB.