Lung cancer is the chief cause of cancer deaths for both men and women - Lung cancer facts

Lung cancer is a common form of cancer. It is the chief cause of cancer deaths for both men and women, although the rate of lung cancer is declining significantly for men. more than 163,000 people die from lung cancers each year.

Lung cancer is considered to be the most tragic type of cancer because, in most cases, it could have been prevented. Smoking tobacco is responsible for 87 percent of lung cancers. The risk of dying from lung cancer is 22 times higher for men who smoke and 12 times higher for women who smoke than it is for people who never smoked.

Lung cancer is cancer of the lungs. Like other parts of the body, the lungs are made up of many types of cells. Cells divide in an orderly, controlled way to produce more cells when more cells are needed in the body. When cells divide in an abnormal, uncontrolled way, they can form either a benign or malignant tumor:

• Benign tumors are not cancerous. They are rarely life-threatening.
• Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cancer cells can spread to nearby healthy cells and destroy them. The cancerous cells can also invade other parts of the body. Cancerous cells in the lungs can spread to the lymph glands, which are located nearby. The cancer can also spread to other parts of the body.

Lung cancers can be divided into two main types: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The cancer cells of each type grow and spread in different ways, and they are treated differently.

Non-small cell lung cancer

Most lung cancers are non-small cell. There are three main types of non-small cell lung cancer: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma.

• For men, squamous cell carcinoma is the most common kind of lung cancer. It does not spread as quickly as other types, and it usually starts in the bronchi.
• For women and for nonsmokers, the most common type of lung cancer is adenocarcinoma. It usually starts around the outer edges of the lungs and under the lining of the bronchi.
• A group of cancers with large, abnormal cells -- large cell carcinomas -- also usually begins around the outer edges of the lungs.  

Small cell lung cancer

About 15 to 20 percent of the newly diagnosed lung cancer cases are small-cell carcinomas -- a type of lung cancer in which the cells are small and round. It is also sometimes called "oat cell" lung cancer. This type of cancer grows rapidly and quickly spreads to other organs.

There are usually no signs or symptoms in lung cancer. 

The main symptoms of lung cancer are listed below:

• A cough that doesn’t go away after two or three weeks
• A long-standing cough that gets worse
• Persistent chest infections
• Coughing up blood
• Persistent breathlessness
• Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss

The treatments for lung cancer depend on the stage of the cancer, personal characteristics, health status, type of the cancer and age. A number of therapies are provided to a patient as there is no single treatment available for lung cancer. Radiation, surgery and chemotherapy are considered as the major lung cancer treatment.

Surgery : One of the oldest methods for treating lung cancer is surgery. The surgical removal of the tumor and surrounding lymph nodes is done if there is I or II stage cancer that has not metastasized. Palliative or curative are the two types of lung cancer surgeries. Palliative surgery may not remove cancer but can remove an open airway or obstruction that was making the patient uncomfortable. Curative surgery removes all types of cancerous tissue in those patients who are in early stage lung cancer.

Chemoembolization:Strong chemicals are used in chemotherapy that interferes with cell division process and damages DNA or proteins. The aim of these treatments is to rapidly divide the cells. The normal cells can be recovered from any chemical-induced damage whereas cancer cells cannot be recovered. The medicines in chemotherapy travel in a systematic way by passing from the complete body and destroying the original tumor cells that have spread in the whole body. Usually many therapies are combined that also includes many types of chemotherapy.

Radiation Therapy :Radiation therapy may be employed as a treatment for both NSCLC and SCLC. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill dividing cancer cells. Radiation therapy may be given as curative therapy, palliative therapy (using lower doses of radiation than with curative therapy), or as adjuvant therapy in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy generally only shrinks a tumor or limits its growth when given as a sole therapy, yet in 10%-15% of people it leads to long-term remission and palliation of the cancer. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy can further prolong survival when chemotherapy is administered. External radiation therapy can generally be carried out on an outpatient basis, while internal radiation therapy requires a brief hospitalization.

Targeted Therapy :Targeted therapy drugs more specifically target cancer cells, resulting in less damage to normal cells than general chemotherapeutic agents. Erlotinib and gefitinib target a protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that is important in promoting the division of cells. This protein is found at abnormally high levels on the surface of some types of cancer cells, including many cases of non-small cell lung cancer.

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