Research Progress of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Complicated with Lung Cancer

Context: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic interstitial disease with unknown cause andpathogenesis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients are more likely to be concomitant with lung cancer (LC) than normalolder smoking men. Currently, there is no unified expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of IPF combined with lungcancer (IPF-LC) patients. Evidence Acquisition: We performed a computerized search of PubMed database with keywords: Idiopathic pulmonaryfibrosis complicated with LC and therapy Results: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is an independent risk factor for LC, and there are similar genetic mutations, epigeneticchanges, and signaling pathways between IPF and LC. Acute exacerbation of IPF (AE-IPF) poses a significant challenge in thetreatment of IPF-LC patients, as surgery, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy may all trigger AE-IPF leading to patient death. Theclinical benefits of anti-fibrotic therapy drugs such as nintedanib or combined therapy targeting lung fibrosis and LC areexpected to outweigh adverse reactions. Conclusions: Combination therapy may be an effective strategy for treating IPF-LC in the future, and there is an urgent need todevelop appropriate preclinical animal models and conduct more clinical studies to find safe and effective new strategies fortreating IPF-LC.