Levels of sex steroids in lung tissues of patients with non‑small cell lung cancer after COVID‑19 of different severity

Abstract

The purpose of the study. To analyze levels of sex hormones and cortisol in lung tissues of patients with lung cancer with previous COVID‑19 of different severity.Materials and methods. The material for the study included samples of lung tissues obtained after open biopsy at radical surgery from 60 patients with morphologically verified stage I–IIIA non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (сT1–3NХ M0). The mean age of patients was 59.11 ± 2.9 years. All patients had negative results of SARS‑CoV‑2 nasopharyngeal swab PCR testing at hospitalization. Based on the anamnestic data collected using a special questionnaire, the main and control groups were formed depending on COVID‑19 severity. The main group included 30 NSCLC patients (15 men and 15 women) after severe or moderate COVID‑19 who had required hospitalization; the control group included 30 patients with NSCLC after asymptomatic or mild SARS‑CoV‑2 infection. All patients underwent COVID‑19 infection for 3 months or more before the start of NSCLC treatment. Quantitative assessment of estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), progesterone (P4) and cortisol (C) was performed by RIA in 10 % homogenates of the tumor and resection line tissues.Results. Resection line tissues in women of the main group showed an increase of E2 by 1.7 times, C by 1.6 times, P4 by 4.1 times, and a decrease of T by 1.3 times; in men, levels of T and P4 were increased on average by 1.8 times (p < 0.05). Tumor samples in men and women of the main group demonstrated increased E2 by 1.7 times, and C by 1.8 times in women only (p < 0.05).Conclusions. Severe COVID‑19 changed the hormonal profile of unaffected lung tissues, especially in women, and the tumor itself. Most likely, we should expect the increase in the incidence of lung cancer, especially in females, and also changes in its course, response to antitumor therapy and, possibly, higher rates of complications and adverse outcomes.