| Abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and lung cancer (LC) pose a serious threat to human health, the prognosis of IPF is poor, the 5-year survival rate is low, and the incidence rate and mortality of LC are high. At present, IPF combine with LC (IPF-LC) has attracted much attention, but the pathogenesis is unclear. Epidemiology shows that, the risk of LC in IPF patients is 7 times than that of the general population, the incidence rate varies in different regions, which is related to smoking rate and diagnostic criteria. In terms of pathogenesis, chronic inflammation, angiogenesis, signaling pathways, aging, gene mutations, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), and immune dysfunction are common pathogenic factors of both, and pathological changes such as smoking and pulmonary fibrosis increase the risk of LC. Thoroughly studying these mechanisms is of great significance for the early diagnosis, treatment strategy formulation, and improvement of patient prognosis of IPF-LC. |
