Background: Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) can lead to intermittent hypoxia and systemic inflammatory response, which may influence the progression of lung cancer in patients. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between serum platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and to explore the diagnostic value of PDGF-BB in distinguishing mild-moderate and severe OSAHS in patients with lung cancer (LC).

Methods: This study is a retrospective study that included 76 patients diagnosed with OSAHS combined with LC from March 2021 to March 2023, as well as a control group comprising 72 healthy adults, 30 cases of OSAHS only, and 29 cases of LC only. All subjects underwent nighttime polysomnography to obtain Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), minimum/average SpO₂, and T90%. Serum PDGF-BB was measured by ELISA. Patients with OSAHS and concomitant LC were divided into two groups based on AHI: a mild-moderate group (5 ≤ AHI ≤ 30, n = 47) and a severe group (AHI >30, n = 29). Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between PDGF-BB and disease indicators. The efficacy of PDGF-BB in distinguishing the severity of the disease was evaluated by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results: The OSAHS-with-concomitant-LC group showed significantly elevated PDGF-BB levels (p < 0.05) than the control group. PDGF-BB was significantly elevated in the severe group than in the mild-moderate group (p < 0.001). PDGF-BB was positively linked with AHI (r = 0.888, p < 0.001) and T90% (r = 0.750, p < 0.001), but was negatively linked with Min SpO₂ (r = –0.740, p < 0.001) and Mean SpO₂ (r = –0.534, p < 0.001). ROC curves demonstrated the AUC of PDGF-BB level for distinguishing the mild-moderate group from the severe group as 0.9912 (95% CI: 0.9770–1.0000, p < 0.0001), optimal cutoff value as 757.7 ng/L, sensitivity as 100.0%, and specificity as 95.74%.

Conclusion: Serum PDGF-BB is significantly elevated in patients with OSAHS and concomitant LC, and is highly correlated with the severity of hypoxia. It has high diagnostic value and can be used as a biomarker to assist in evaluating the severity of OSAHS.