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Cancer

Lung

What is lung cancer?

 

Lung cancer is cancer that forms in tissues of the lung, usually in the cells that line the air passages. It is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women.

There are two main types: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. These two types grow differently and are treated differently. Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common type.

 

Who is more likely to develop lung cancer?

 

Anyone can develop lung cancer, but certain factors raise your risk of getting it:

  • Smoking. This is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Tobacco smoking causes about 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer in men and about 8 out of 10 cases of lung cancer in women. The more years you smoke and the more cigarettes you smoke each day, the more your risk goes up. Your risk is also greater if you smoke a lot and drink alcohol every day or take beta carotene supplements. If you have quit smoking, your risk will be lower than if you had kept smoking. But you will still have a higher risk than people who never smoked.
  • Secondhand smoke, which is the combination of the smoke that comes from a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by a smoker. When you breathe in secondhand smoke, you are exposed to the same cancer-causing agents as smokers, although in smaller amounts.
  • A family history of lung cancer.
  • Being exposed to asbestos, arsenic, chromium, beryllium, nickel, soot, or tar in the workplace.
  • Being exposed to radiation, for example from:
    • Radiation therapy to the breast or chest
    • Radon in the home or workplace
    • Certain imaging tests such as CT scans
  • HIV infection. Your risk is higher if you have HIV. However, smoking rates are higher in people who have HIV, so it's not clear whether the increased risk is from the HIV infection or from smoking.
  • Air pollution. Studies show that living in areas with higher levels of air pollution increases your risk of lung cancer.

 

What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

 

Lung cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Sometimes the cancer is found during a chest x-ray done for another condition. People can have different symptoms for lung cancer. Some people have symptoms related to the lungs. Some people whose lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) have symptoms specific to that part of the body. Some people just have general symptoms of not feeling well. Most people with lung cancer don't have symptoms until the cancer is advanced.

The symptoms of lung cancer may include:

  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • A cough that doesn't go away or gets worse over time
  • Coughing up blood
  • Trouble breathing
  • Wheezing
  • Hoarseness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss for no known reason
  • Feeling very tired
  • Trouble swallowing
  • Swelling in the face and/or veins in the neck

Other changes that can sometimes occur with lung cancer may include repeated bouts of pneumonia and swollen or enlarged lymph nodes (glands) inside the chest in the area between the lungs. 

These signs and symptoms can happen with other illnesses, too. If you have some of these signs and symptoms, talk to your doctor, who can help find the cause.

 

How is lung cancer diagnosed?

 

To find out if you have lung cancer, your health care provider:

  • Will take your medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
  • Will ask about your family history
  • Will do a physical exam
  • May order certain imaging tests, such as a chest x-ray or chest CT scan
  • May order lab tests, including tests of your blood and sputum
  • May do a procedure to take a biopsy of the lung

If you do have lung cancer, your provider will do other tests to find out if it has spread through the lungs, lymph nodes, and the rest of the body. This is called staging. Knowing the type and stage of lung cancer you have helps your provider decide what kind of treatment you need.

If you have small-cell lung cancer, your provider may also do genetic testing to look for certain gene changes (variants) in your cancer cells. The results of the testing may help guide treatment.

 

Screening for Lung Cancer

 

Screening means testing for a disease when there are no symptoms or history of that disease. Doctors recommend a screening test to find a disease early, when treatment may work better.

The only recommended screening test for lung cancer is low-dose computed tomography (also called a low-dose CT scan, or LDCT). During an LDCT scan, you lie on a table and an x-ray machine uses a low dose (amount) of radiation to make detailed images of your lungs. The scan only takes a few minutes and is not painful.

Who should be screened?

The US Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) recommends yearly lung cancer screening with LDCT for people who:

  • Have a 20 pack-year or more smoking history, and
  • Smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years, and
  • Are between 50 and 80 years old.

A pack-year is smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. For example, a person could have a 20 pack-year history by smoking one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.

Risks of screening

Lung cancer screening has at least three risks:

  • A lung cancer screening test can suggest that a person has lung cancer when no cancer is present. This is called a false-positive result. False-positive results can lead to follow-up tests and surgeries that are not needed and may have risks.
  • A lung cancer screening test can find cases of cancer that may never have caused a problem for the patient. This is called overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis can lead to treatment that is not needed.
  • Radiation from repeated LDCT tests can cause cancer in otherwise healthy people.

That is why lung cancer screening is recommended only for adults who are at high risk for developing the disease because of their smoking history and age, and who do not have a health problem that substantially limits their life expectancy or their ability or willingness to have lung surgery, if needed.

If you are thinking about getting screened, talk to your doctor. If lung cancer screening is right for you, your doctor can refer you to a high-quality screening facility.

Some people with a smoking history may blame themselves or feel that others blame them for being at risk of getting cancer. Lung cancer can be caused by many different things. Lung cancer screening can help find it early, when treatment may work better.

When you get lung cancer screening, your doctor may ask you if you smoke, ask if you're ready to quit smoking, and tell you about proven steps that can help you quit. No matter how long you have used tobacco, quitting can reduce your risk for lung cancer and other chronic diseases.

Many people who use tobacco become addicted to nicotine, a drug found naturally in tobacco. This can make it hard to quit. Most people who use tobacco try to quit several times before they succeed. For more information about quitting tobacco use, visit smokefree.gov.

When should screening stop?

The Task Force recommends that yearly lung cancer screening stop when the person being screened:

  • Turns 81 years old, or
  • Has not smoked in 15 or more years, or
  • Develops a health problem that makes him or her unwilling or unable to have surgery if lung cancer is found.

Insurance and Medicare coverage

Most insurance plans and Medicare help pay for recommended lung cancer screening tests. If the screening test finds something abnormal, you may need more tests. These follow-up tests may have a cost such as a co-pay or deductible. Check with your insurance plan to find out what benefits are covered for lung cancer screening. For more information about Medicare coverage, visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE. TTY users should call 1 (877) 486-2048.

 

What are the treatments for lung cancer?

 

For most patients with lung cancer, current treatments do not cure the cancer.

Your treatment will depend on which type of lung cancer you have, how far it has spread, your overall health, and other factors. You may get more than one type of treatment.

The treatments for small cell lung cancer may include:

  • Surgery. An operation in which doctors cut out the cancer
  • Chemotherapy. Use of special medicines to shrink or kill the cancer. The drugs can be pills you take or medicines given in your veins, or sometimes both.
  • Radiation therapy. Use of high-energy rays (similar to x-rays) to kill the cancer
  • Targeted therapy: Use of drugs to block the growth and spread of cancer cells. The drugs can be pills you take or medicines given in your veins. You will get tests to see if targeted therapy is right for your cancer type before this treatment is used.
  • Immunotherapy.
  • Laser therapy, which uses a laser beam to kill cancer cells.
  • Endoscopic stent placement. An endoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument used to look at tissues inside the body. It may be used to put in a device called a stent. The stent helps to open an airway that has been blocked by abnormal tissue.

The treatments for non-small cell lung cancer may include:

  • Surgery. An operation in which doctors cut out the cancer
  • Radiation therapy. Use of high-energy rays (similar to x-rays) to kill the cancer
  • Chemotherapy. Use of special medicines to shrink or kill the cancer. The drugs can be pills you take or medicines given in your veins, or sometimes both.
  • Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.
  • Immunotherapy.
  • Laser therapy, which uses a laser beam to kill cancer cells.
  • Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which uses a medicine and a certain type of laser light to kill cancer cells.
  • Cryosurgery, which uses an instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue.
  • Electrocautery, a treatment that uses a probe or needle heated by an electric current to destroy abnormal tissue.

 

Can lung cancer be prevented?

 

Avoiding the risk factors may help prevent lung cancer.

For example, you can:

  • Quit smoking. And if you don't smoke, don't start.
  • Lower your exposure to hazardous substances at work.
  • Lower your exposure to radon. Radon tests can show whether your home has high levels of radon. You can buy a test kit yourself or hire a professional to do the test.

 

Reducing Risk for Lung Cancer

 

Steps you can take

  • Don't smoke. Cigarette smoking causes about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths in the United States. The most important thing you can do to prevent lung cancer is to not start smoking, or, if you smoke, to quit.
  • Avoid secondhand smoke. Smoke from other people's cigarettes, cigars, or pipes is called secondhand smoke. Make your home and car smoke-free.
  • Reduce radon in your home if needed. Get your home tested for radon and take steps to reduce the radon level if it is high.
  • Be careful at work. Follow health and safety guidelines to avoid carcinogens (things that can cause cancer).

 

Which treatment is right for me?

 

Talk to your cancer doctor about the treatment options available for your type and stage of cancer. Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of each treatment and the side effects. Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments.

Sometimes people get an opinion from more than one cancer doctor. This is called a "second opinion." Getting a second opinion may help you choose the treatment that is right for you.

 

Clinical trials

 

Clinical trials use new treatment options to see if they are safe and effective. If you have cancer, you may want to take part. Visit the sites listed below for more information.

 

Complementary and alternative medicine

 

Complementary and alternative medicine are medicines and health practices that are not standard cancer treatments. Complementary medicine is used in addition to standard treatments. Alternative medicine is used instead of standard treatments. Acupuncture and supplements like vitamins and herbs are some examples.

Many kinds of complementary and alternative medicine have not been tested scientifically and may not be safe. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits before you start any kind of complementary or alternative medicine.

 

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Copyright © 2000 - 2025    K. Kerr

Most recent revision October 09, 2025 05:26:41 PM

 

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