Coexistence of malignancy and tuberculosis: is it double disease or double hit related to COVID-19? - Experience from a tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: Coexistent malignancy and tuberculosis (TB) are rarely encountered. Cancer patients are a highly vulnerable subgroup during this Covid crisis. Delayed treatment for malignancy because of COVID-19 pandemic leads to higher chances to get infections.

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to present the clinicopathologic profile of the patients with coexistent carcinoma and TB during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care center.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between April 2020 to May 2021 in the Department of Pathology of our Institute. 11 patients with coexistent malignancy and caseous necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with Langhans giant cells and or acid-fast bacilli (AFB) positivity were included in the study. Cases of ill-defined granulomas coexistent malignancy were excluded. We studied varied clinical and histopathologic features of these cases.

RESULTS: Eleven cases were reported with coexistent malignancy and tuberculosis, of which 8 were reported in 2021 and 3 cases were reported in 2020. Adenocarcinoma comprised 9 cases (81.8%) and the remaining 2 were squamous cell carcinoma (18.1%). Out of 11, 10 (90.9%) were new TB cases. Of these, 10 were extrapulmonary TB and one pulmonary TB case with cancer. Regarding chemotherapy, four patients accepted that chemotherapy was delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis.

CONCLUSION: In this covid pandemic, India being the 2nd most populous country and endemic for TB, there is a higher chance of latent and active TB. The coexistence of two different pathologies is rare, even in a region with a high incidence of TB. Delayed chemotherapy in a pandemic situation leads to an increased incidence of infectious diseases such as TB.