ReviewCancers2026
Tuberculosis Preceding Lung Cancer: A Contemporary Meta-Analysis Revealing a Critical Gap in Post-2020 Evidence.
Review in Cancers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Chronic Air Pollution Exposure and the Immunomolecular Profile of Lung Cancer: A Regional Cohort Study.Biomedicines · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTuberculosis (TB) has long been suspected to contribute to lung carcinogenesis through chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation. However, contemporary controlled evidence quantifying this association remains limited. We aimed to systematically evaluate the relationship between prior TB and subsequent lung malignancy, using recent observational studies and complementary case reports.
methodsA systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis were conducted, including controlled cohort and case-control studies published from 2020 onward. Adjusted effect estimates were converted to the logarithmic scale for pooling. Heterogeneity and small-study effects were assessed using standard meta-analytic techniques. Additionally, published case reports were descriptively analyzed to explore clinicopathological patterns.
resultsAcross eligible studies, prior TB was consistently associated with an increased risk of subsequent lung cancer (LC). The pooled estimate demonstrated a statistically significant positive association, despite moderate heterogeneity. Larger nationwide cohorts contributed greater statistical weight, while smaller studies showed wider variability. Case reports revealed heterogeneous temporal patterns, including long-latency scar-associated carcinoma and concurrent inflammatory-malignant presentations.
conclusionsContemporary controlled evidence supports an association between prior tuberculosis and increased risk of subsequent lung malignancy. However, despite strong biological plausibility and the abundant literature on cancer-associated tuberculosis, modern longitudinal studies specifically evaluating tuberculosis as a preceding independent risk factor remain limited. The small number of eligible post-2020 investigations identified in this meta-analysis highlights a significant contemporary research gap and underlines the need for well-designed prospective studies to clarify causality and guide surveillance strategies in TB-exposed populations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.