Hypoxemia due to sleep apnea associated with risk of lung cancer reoccurrence: Study

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting is the first to find that episodic hypoxemia and hypoxic burden related to obstructive sleep apnea are associated with the risk of accelerated lung cancer reoccurrence.

Results show that a 4% oxygen desaturation index of more than 15 and time spent in desaturation events were risk factors for cancer reappearance in less than two years. Measures of hypoxic burden such as time spent below 89% oxygen saturation, average oxygen saturation value below 89%, and single nadir oxygen levels, showed a similar association. After adjustment for potential confounders, average oxygen saturation below 89% and single minimum oxygen level remained strongly correlated with accelerated cancer reoccurrence.

“We were suspecting that we would find a positive association between measures of intermittent hypoxemia and lung cancer reoccurrence; nonetheless, we never expected to see such a strong signal,” said lead author Dr. Fernando Figueroa Rodriguez, sleep medicine fellow at the Mayo Clinic in the division of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. “This caught us by surprise; but at the same time, this keeps us encouraged and eager to produce more data.”