A UNIQUE CASE OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SILICOSIS, BRONCHIAL ASTHMA AND LUNG CANCER

Abstract

Purpose: Silicosis is a specific occupational disease characterized by progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Lung cancer is one of the leading oncological illnesses in incidence and unfavorable prognosis. Bronchial asthma is a chronic allergic inflammation of the airways characterized by reversible bronchial obstruction. These diseases are a great burden for occupational medicine and the financial resource of the healthcare systems. The aim of this article is to prove the correlation between these three important diseases affecting the lungs. Materials/methods: Discharge summaries, results from imaging and functional lung tests, blood, biochemical, immunohistochemical, microbiological, and serological tests are used to describe the case. Results: Silicosis represents a risk factor for the occurrence of lung cancer. The presence of a relationship between the duration and intensity of silicon dioxide exposure and the severity and poor prognosis of lung cancer is assumed. In asthma, the mechanical impact of quartz could trigger bronchial obstruction by an irritative mechanism. Endobronchially growing lung cancer could provoke an obstructive ventilatory defect. Bronchial obstruction appears to be a connecting unit in the development of these three diseases. Furthermore, bronchial asthma could additionally complicate the course of silicosis and lung cancer, worsening the prognosis even more. Conclusions: The case gives an opportunity for strengthening the interdisciplinary collaboration between allergologists, pulmonologists, occupational physicians and oncologists, with the aim for prompter and more accurate diagnose of these diseases. The interdisciplinary approach could improve the control and postpone the complications in patients suffering from these three illnesses, thus improving the quality of their life.

Keywords

• silicosis
• lung cancer
• bronchial asthma
• occupational disease