Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent airway inflammation and fixed airflow obstruction. Patients with COPD have increased risk of lung cancer (LC), and the coexistence of both diseases is associated with poorer survival. However, the mechanisms predisposing patients with COPD to LC development and poor prognosis remain unclear. Gene expression profiles were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Twenty-two data sets were included (n = 876). We identified 133 DEGs and 145 DEGs in patients with COPD and LC compared with healthy controls, respectively. There were 1544 DEGs in patients with LC and coexisting COPD compared with COPD, and these DEGs are mainly involved in the cell cycle, DNA replication, p53 signalling and insulin signalling. The biological processes primarily associated with these DEGs are oxidation reduction and apoptosis. SPP1 was the only overlapping DEG that was up-regulated in patients with COPD and/or LC, and this was validated by qPCR in an independent cohort. The area under the curve value for SPP1 was 0.893 (0.822-0.963) for the prediction of LC in patients with COPD. High expression of SPP1 in patients with LC was associated with shorter survival time. Up-regulation of SPP1 may be associated with increased risk of LC in patients with COPD and therefore may have potential as a therapeutic target for LC in patients with COPD.