European Respiratory Journal | 2019
New evidence on the chemoprevention of inhaled steroids and the risk of lung cancer in COPD
Abstract
Not long ago, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was considered a Cinderella, an unappealing disease lacking therapeutic options. It was also stigmatised as a consequence of the smoking habit that is a leading cause of COPD worldwide [1]. However, as the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) [2], and the joint American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society consensus documents suggest [3], COPD should be viewed as treatable and preventable, offering multiple opportunities for disease modification. New evidence regarding the protective effect of inhaled steroids in patients with COPD suggests that a controlled clinical trial is needed to investigate the potential benefit of inhaled steroids in preventing lung cancer in patients with COPD http://bit.ly/2PTBTCO