Knee arthritis may be the first sign of lung cancer in heavy smokers

A new research in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases has suggested that arthritis of the knee in heavy smokers may be the first sign of a type of lung cancer, which is difficult to treat.

Between 2000 and 2005, of 6500 patients, were cases of monoarthritis-inflammation in just one joint-of the knee. In every case, the lung cancer was operable, and once the cancerous tissue had been removed, the knee symptoms subsided.

Non-small cell lung cancer is linked to other conditions, which feature abnormal growths, in up to 20 per cent of cases, say the authors. And spread to the bones occurs in around one in five cases. However, the authors note that it has not so far been linked to arthritis.