Protective effect of H1 antihistamine against lung cancer in patients with allergic diseases: A global federated health network analysis.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
OBJECTIVE: Lung cancer remains a major global health issue, potentially influenced by allergic diseases like asthma and allergic rhinitis via mast cell-driven inflammation. Due to the limited availability of direct mast cell-targeted therapies, the study investigated whether leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs), glucocorticoids (GCs), alone or with H1 antihistamines (H1AHs), impact lung cancer risk compared to H1AHs alone. METHODS: The retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network and enrolled patients aged 18-90 years diagnosed with asthma or allergic rhinitis. Patients were categorized based on medication usage lasting more than 28 days, which defined the index date. Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for multivariable factors, were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of primary lung cancer. RESULTS: We found that patients treated with H1AHs alone had a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to those using LTRAs alone (HR,1.88; 95% CI, 1.32-2.67) or a combination of H1AHs and LTRAs (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.12-1.98). Conversely, patients treated with H1AHs alone had a significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer compared to those receiving GCs alone (HR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.20-0.56) or a combination of H1AHs and GCs (HR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.14-0.36). These associations remained consistent at medication durations of six and eight weeks of medication usage. CONCLUSION: LTRAs, particularly when combined with H1AHs, reduce the risk of lung cancer in patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis, whereas GCs should be prescribed with careful consideration due to their potential association with increased cancer risk.