ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The COPD-LUCSS-DLCO score had been validated as a predictive tool capable of identifying patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a high mortality risk associated with lung cancer (LC); however, studies have not been conducted yet on its use in standard clinical practice. The aim of this study was to estimate the COPD-LUCSS-DLCO scores for patients with COPD treated in Pulmonology consultations and to determine the incidence of LC in each of the subgroups. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted with a cohort of 159 patients with COPD in Pulmonology outpatient follow-up consultations. We calculated the COPD-LUCSS-DLCO score (0-8) for each patient, with low risk considered at 0-3 points and high risk at ≥3.5 points. We calculated the incidence rate of LC in each of the subgroups. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of the patients had a high-risk score. We estimated an overall LC rate of 30 per 1000 patients with COPD-year (95% CI: 16-53), 44 per 1000 patients with COPD-year (95% CI: 18-76) among those categorised as high risk and 17 per 1000 patients with COPD-year among those categorised as low risk (95% CI: 4-50). CONCLUSIONS: The use of the COPD-LUCSS-DLCO score in standard clinical practice could help detect patients with a greater risk of developing LC, which could help to better manage cases in an LC screening programme.
