TUBERCULOSIS CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF CANCER: TRUE OR NOT

Globally, tuberculosis is a serious health issue. There were an estimated 10 million cases and 1.5 million deaths from tuberculosis in 2020, despite the incidence slowly declining. Since tuberculosis patients who receive successful treatment continue to experience health issues, the disease's morbidity burden goes beyond cure.

Lung function impairment and other respiratory conditions like bronchiectasis and COPD have been linked to tuberculosis in the past. People receiving treatment for tuberculosis have a significantly higher all-cause mortality rate than the general population.

Chronic inflammation can promote tumour growth in different types of cancer and chronic inflammation in the lung has been hypothesised to promote carcinogenesis. Independent of tobacco use, chronic bronchitis and emphysema have been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer.

The ongoing inflammation caused by TB may contribute to the development of cancer. This is due to the fact that tuberculosis is a chronic illness that causes the production of cytokines, which promote the growth and development of pulmonary tumours. It should be emphasised that this could harm genetic material. It is needed to be noted that people with tuberculosis had a higher mortality rate from pulmonary cancer than people without it.

The disease, which is also known as pulmonary TB, typically affects the lungs and is caused by the bacterium M. tuberculosis. Lymph nodes, kidneys, bones, and joints are just a few examples of body parts that could suffer negative effects.

Tuberculosis is spread through the air when a person with untreated TB lung disease coughs or sneezes, laughs or sings. A person must have continual close contact with someone who has untreated TB lung disease and breathe in TB germs for an infection to occur.

Causation cannot be established because some cancer cases may have been present at the time of the tuberculosis diagnosis. Prospective studies that account for important confounding factors are required to determine which tuberculosis patients are most at risk, as well as the cost-effective means of reducing that risk.

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