Lung cancer in patients with chronic pyothorax.

Background and objective:  The aim of this study was to describe the features of lung cancers associated with chronic tuberculous pyothorax. Methods:  Clinicopathological data from patients with coexisting lung cancer and chronic latent pyothorax caused by tuberculosis (TB) were analysed, and cancer tissue samples were investigated for the presence of Epstein–Barr virus. Results:  Twelve patients were identified, and all had a history of tuberculous pleuritis or surgical intervention for TB. The interval between the onset of TB and lung cancer was more than 30 years in nine patients and the most frequent symptom was chest pain (six patients). All cancers were in the ipsilateral lung to the pyothorax, and in nine of the 12 patients the cancers were located adjacent to the pyothorax. In situ hybridization analysis for Epstein–Barr virus-encoded small RNA failed to show positive signals in any of the six cancer tissues examined. Conclusions:  Lung cancer associated with chronic pyothorax always developed in the ipsilateral lung to the pyothorax, and there was no evidence for the presence of Epstein–Barr virus in the cancer tissues examined.