Introduction
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Lung cancer currently ranks as the leading cause of cancer related death in men and women.
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Most lung cancers begin in epithelial cells lining the bronchi.
Types of Lung Cancer
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Lung cancer is divided into 2 main types, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
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SCLC tends to be an aggressive cancer and is highly associated with tobacco smoking.
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The majority of lung cancer cases are NSCLC which itself is subdivided into three categories: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and lung cell carcinoma.
Risk Factors
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Smoking and second-hand smoke are, by far, the leading risk factors for lung cancer.
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Lung cancer risk is higher if an immediate family member has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
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Chemicals such as radon and asbestos increase lung cancer risk.
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Chronic lung diseases have also been implicated as a lung cancer risk.
Symptoms
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Advanced stage lung cancer symptoms: persistent cough, sputum streaked with blood , chest pain ,voice change, recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis.
Detection and Diagnosis
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Common detection methods are chest x-ray, chest CT scan, bronchoscopy, and sputum cytology.
Pathology Report and Staging
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A tissue biopsy of the lung is examined by a pathologist in order to create a pathology report.
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NSCLC uses the T/N/M staging system which assigns a degree of severity based on size, lymph node involvement, and spread of the cancer.
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SCLC is diagnosed as either limited or extensive depending on the spread of the cancer.
Lung Cancer Tumor Biology
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Many genetic changes occur in cancer. Details can be found in the Mutation section..
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Alterations in Ras, Myc, Rb, TP53, and EGFR have been implicated in the development of lung cancer.
Treatment
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Lung cancer treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
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