Lung Cancer
Lung cancers are cancers that begin in the lungs. Other types of cancers may spread to the lungs from other organs. However, these are not lung cancers because they did not start in the lungs. When cancer cells spread from one organ to another, they are called metastases.
Research has found several risk factors for lung cancer. A "risk factor" is anything that changes risk of getting a disease. Different risk factors change risk by different amounts.
The risk factors for lung cancer include:
- smoking and being around others' smoke
- things around us at home or work (such as radon gas)
- personal traits (such as having a family history of lung cancer)
Symptoms
Different people have different symptoms for lung cancer. Some people don't have any symptoms at all. About 25% of people with lung cancer do not have symptoms from advanced cancer when their lung cancer is found. Lung cancer symptoms may include:
- shortness of breath
- coughing that doesn't go away
- wheezing
- coughing up blood
- chest pain
- fever
- weight loss
Other changes that can sometimes occur with lung cancer may include repeated bouts of pneumonia, changes in the shape of the fingertips, and swollen or enlarged lymph nodes (glands) in the upper chest and lower neck.
These symptoms can happen with other illnesses, too. People with symptoms should talk to their doctor, especially if they smoke, but even if they don't. Doctors can help find the cause.
Diagnosis and Treatment
A person’s lung cancer diagnosis depends on the type of lung cancer present. The two main types of lung cancer are small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than small cell lung cancer. These categories refer to what the cancer cells look like under a microscope.
The extent of disease is referred to as the stage. Information about how big a cancer is or how far it has spread is often used to determine the stage. Doctors use information about stage to plan treatment and to monitor progress.
For more information about stages of lung cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Physician Data Query (PDQ) sites on Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer.
There are several ways to treat lung cancer. The treatment depends on the type of lung cancer and how far it has spread. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. People with lung cancer often get more than one kind of treatment. (Visit the NCI PDQ for more information about treatments for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cancer. This site also has a directory of healthcare providers involved in cancer care.
Surgery
Doctors cut out and remove cancer tissue in an operation.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to shrink or kill the cancer. The drugs could be pills or medicines given through an IV (intravenous) tube. Sometimes chemotherapy includes both IV drugs and pills.
Radiation
Radiation uses high-energy rays (similar to x-rays) to try to kill the cancer cells. The rays are aimed at the part of the body where the cancer is.
These treatments may be provided by different doctors on your medical team. Pulmonologists are doctors that are experts in diseases of the lungs. Surgeons are doctors that perform operations. Medical oncologists are doctors that are experts in cancer and treat cancers with medicines. Radiation oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with radiation.
Clinical Trials
People with lung cancer may want to take part in a clinical trial. Clinical trials study new potential treatment options. Visit the NCI, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and American Cancer Society (ACS) sites listed below for more information about finding clinical trials.
Risk Factors
Research has found several risk factors for lung cancer. A "risk factor" is anything that changes risk of getting a disease. Different risk factors change risk by different amounts.
The risk factors for lung cancer include:
- smoking and being around others' smoke
- things around us at home or work (such as radon gas)
- personal traits (such as having a family history of lung cancer)
Smoking and Secondhand Smoke
Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. In fact, smoking tobacco is the major risk factor for lung cancer. In the United States, about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women are due to smoking. People who smoke are 10 to 20 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. The longer a person smokes and the more cigarettes smoked each day the more risk goes up.
People who quit smoking have a lower risk of lung cancer than if they had continued to smoke, but their risk is higher than people who never smoked. As more people quit smoking, lung cancer rates will continue to fall, the percentage of lung cancers that occur in smokers will decrease, and the percentage of lung cancers that occur in people who have quit will rise.
Smoking also causes cancer of the voicebox (larynx,) mouth and throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, and stomach. More information about cigarette smoking and lung cancer is available in the CDC's Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS) Fact Sheets, the Surgeon General's Report 2004 Fact Sheets, and the NCI Cigarette Smoking and Cancer Questions and Answers.
Using cigars or pipes also increases risk for lung cancer, but not as much as smoking cigarettes. For more information, visit the NCI Questions and Answers About Cigar Smoking and Cancer.
Smoke from other people's cigarettes ("secondhand" smoke) causes lung cancer as well. There are more than 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke. More than 50 of these chemicals cause cancer in people or animals. Every year, about 3,000 nonsmokers die from lung cancer due to secondhand smoke.
For more information about secondhand smoke, visit the TIPS fact sheet Secondhand Smoke.
Things That May Cause Cancer at Home and Work
There may be several things that can cause cancer (carcinogens) in the workplace or even in the home. For example, radon gas causes lung cancer and is sometimes found in people's homes. Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that comes from rocks and dirt and can get trapped in houses and buildings. Examples of substances found at some workplaces that increase risk include asbestos, arsenic, and some forms of silica and chromium. For many of these substances, risk of getting lung cancer is even higher for those who also smoke. Other substances may increase lung cancer risk as well.
Family History
Risk of lung cancer may be higher if a person's parents, siblings (brother or sister), or children have had lung cancer. This increased risk could come from one or more things. They may share behaviors, like smoking. They may live in the same place where there are carcinogens such as radon. They may have inherited increased risk in their genes.
Diet
Scientists are studying many different foods to see how they may change the risk of getting lung cancer. However any effect diet may have on lung cancer risk is small compared with the risk from smoking. Eating a lot of fat and cholesterol might increase risk of lung cancer. Drinking a lot of alcohol may raise risk as well. However it's hard to tell how much of the risk in people who drink is actually due to tobacco smoke, since many people both smoke and drink.
for more information.. visit: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/index.htm
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