Abstract: Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two highmortality diseases in the world. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that presence of COPD increases the risk of lung cancer. Habitual cigarette smoking frequently develops lung cancer as well as COPD, However the links between the two diseases should be more than smoking alone. The underlying mechanisms may include genetic predisposition, inflammation and cell injury, oxidative and noxious stress, extracellular matrix and proteinases, some of which might represent the targets for chemoprevention or chemotherapy.

Key words: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive, Lung neoplasms, Smoking, Inflammation