The prognostic significance of obstructive bronchitis in bronchial cancer.

The correlation between chronic bronchitis and bronchial cancer was studied. The significance of common--or supposedly common--etiological factors, the risk of bronchial cancer among patients with obstructive bronchitis, the operability and survival rates of obstructive bronchitic patients with bronchial cancer were studied and compared to the data of patients with bronchial cancer but without obstructive bronchitis. The distribution of smokers was the same among male patients with bronchial cancer or obstructive bronchitis. Among male patients of the same age and smoking habits, suffering from obstructive bronchitis, the relative incidence rate of bronchial cancer was 5 times higher in group of the 50-60-year-old and 11 times higher in the age group above 60 than in the groups of patients with dyscrinia only. Accordingly, unfavourable prognostical significance for bronchial cancer is attributed to obstructive bronchitis. The authors advocates to screen patients with bronchitis, to start their out-patient care in an early stage, to register theirs spirometric data, and to supervise male patients with obstructive bronchitis radiologically.