Cancer and tuberculosis: A lethal duo

Cancer patients are at an increased risk of developing active Tuberculosis (TB) disease. Immunosuppression because of cancer or its treatment modalities, including chemo-radiotherapy, places these patients at an increased risk of developing active TB. We describe the case of a fifty-eight-year-old male patient who was diagnosed and treated for carcinoma larynx but later succumbed to pulmonary TB. Active screening and treatment for Latent TB Infection (LTBI) at the start of cancer treatment in these patients may potentially help reduce the reactivation risk of active TB disease among them.