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A member asked:
Can lung infection cause cancer?
9 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Probably not: There is no evidence of a direct link between lung infection and cancer. Chronic inflammation (eg. Emphysema and, to a lesser degree, chronic bronchitis) confers a risk of lung cancer. There is a weak link between a history of pneumonia and a 15-20% higher risk of lung cancer, but compare that to 40 years of smoking, which increases the chance of cancer by 2500%. Its all relative.
Answered 7/20/2012
6.1k views
No usually: However, infections, if they are long standing, can cause a decrease in your immune response, and this may lead to having the chance of a cancer developing. But, for the most part, there are not well developed infections that will cause cancer, per se in the lung.
Answered 9/10/2012
5.6k views
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