World Cancer Day: How to know if it's Covid-19 or lung cancer

World Cancer Day: There may be an overlap between signs and symptoms due to Covid 19 infection and early-stage lung cancer. Here's how to know if your symptoms are due to lung cancer or Covid-19.

World Cancer Day 2022: Covid-19 is capable to cause great damage to your lungs considering it's a respiratory infection. Coronavirus can infect the upper or lower part of your respiratory tract and even travel down your airways. In some cases, the infection can reach your alveoli, the tiny air sacs that facilitate the exchange of gases.

Recent research shows that both Covid-19 and lung cancer share common symptoms, diagnostic criteria and management. (Shutterstock)

Recent research shows that both Covid-19 and lung cancer share common symptoms, diagnostic criteria and management.

It is not surprising that there is an overlap between signs and symptoms due to Covid-19 infection and early-stage lung cancer. It is very difficult to differentiate between the two unless one tests for Covid-19 infection or investigates for lung cancer with special tests.

Common symptoms of lung cancer and Covid-19

Cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, chest tightness, chest infections are some of the symptoms that both Covid-19 and early-stage lung cancer can share.

How to know if it's Covid-19 or lung cancer

Symptoms of Covid-19 includes fever which is usually not the case in early-stage lung cancer. Low oxygen levels can be another indicator of coronavirus. In case of lung cancer, the fatigue would last for more than four weeks and there will be persistent cough apart from breathlessness and chest infection.

How this symptom confusion can be deadly for lung cancer patients

This overlap can be fatal for lung cancer patients as they might not go for a Covid-19 test and the deadly infection may deteriorate their condition very rapidly.

"Signs and symptoms of acute or chronic Covid infection can be similar to issues people face with lung cancer. It is difficult to know how to protect yourself from infection while maintaining your lung disease treatment schedule and activities of daily living," says Dr Harish Chafle, Senior Consultant - Pulmonology and Critical Care at Global Hospital, Parel, Mumbai.

"There are lot of things which is still unknown about the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 infection. In lung cancer patients who have contracted Covid-19, it is especially difficult to tell the difference between the symptoms of a lingering Covid infection versus the underlying lung cancer," adds Dr Chafle.

An early study from Wuhan suggested that lung cancer patients had almost twice the risk of Covid-19 infection than the general population. What still needs clarification is whether this is because those patients, like many in cancer treatment, were immunocompromised.

"Hence, patients of lung cancer should take extra precautions to prevent getting infected with Covid-19 virus as this infection might deteriorate their condition very rapidly and it was found to be more fatal in these group of patients," says the expert.