Objective:

To describe the epidemiological studies about the relationship between lung cancer (LC) and pulmonary tuberculosis (Tb) and its possible molecular mechanisms.

Materials and methods:

We reviewed research databases in search of publications that included keywords LC and Tb.

Results:

It has been proposed that chronic inflammation in the lungs due to Tb could cause clastogenic activity in the DNA of bronchial epithelium. Another possibility is lateral gene transfer; since Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) is an intracellular organism, bacterial DNA could integrate to bronchial epithelial cells inducing neoplastic transformation.

Conclusions:

There are epidemiological reports, particularly from Asian countries, which confirm a relationship between LC and Tb. MTb could play an active role in cellular transformation and it is important to elucidate the mechanism involved.

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