All you need to know about lung cancer

Cancer Information

The alveoli and capillaries in the lungs exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Imbalances in the exchange of these gases can lead to dangerous respiratory disorders, such as respiratory acidosis or hyperventilation. In addition, accumulation of fluid in the alveolar spaces can interfere with gas exchange, causing symptoms such as shortness of breath

Introduction

Disease characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells in the lungs. Lung cancer was first described by doctors in the mid-19th century. In the early 20th century it was considered relatively rare, but by the end of the century it was the leading cause of cancer-related death among men in more than 25 developed countries. In the United States it has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of death from cancer among women. This rapid increase is due mostly to the increased use of cigarettes since World War I.

Causes and symptoms

Lung cancer occurs primarily in persons between 45 and 75 years of age. In countries with a prolonged history of cigarette smoking, between 80 and 90 percent of all cases are caused by smoking. Heavy smokers have a greater likelihood of developing the disease than do light smokers. The risk is also greater for those who started smoking at a young age.

Passive inhalation of cigarette smoke (sometimes called second hand smoke) is linked to lung cancer in non smokers. In the early 1990s it was estimated that passive smoking caused some 2,500 to 3,300 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States, or about 2 percent of all U.S. lung cancer deaths. Other risk factors include exposure to radon gas and asbestos; smokers exposed to these substances run a greater risk of developing lung cancer than do non smokers. Uranium and pitchblende miners, chromium and nickel refiners, welders, and workers exposed to halogenated ethers also have an increased incidence, as do some workers in hydrocarbon-related processing, such as coal processors, tar refiners, and roofers. Lung cancer is rarely caused directly by inherited mutations.

Tumours can begin anywhere in the lung, but symptoms do not usually appear until the disease has reached an advanced stage or spread to another part of the body. The most common symptoms include shortness of breath, a persistent cough or wheeze, chest pain, bloody sputum, unexplained weight loss, and susceptibility to lower respiratory infections. In cases where the cancer has spread beyond the lungs, visible lumps, jaundice, or bone pain may occur.

Diagnosis

Lung cancers are often discovered during examinations for other conditions. Cancer cells may be detected in sputum; a needle biopsy may be used to remove a sample of lung tissue for analysis; or the large airways of the lungs (bronchi) can viewed directly with a bronchoscope for signs of cancer. Non invasive methods include X rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, positron emission tomography (PET) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Most cases are usually diagnosed well after the disease has spread (metastasized) from its original site. For this reason, lung cancer has a poorer prognosis than many other cancers. Even when it is detected early, the five-year survival rate is about 50 percent.

Types of lung cancer

Once diagnosed, the tumour's type and degree of invasiveness are determined. There are two basic forms: small-cell carcinoma, which accounts for 20–25 percent of all cases, and non-small-cell carcinoma, which is responsible for the remainder.

Small-cell carcinoma

Small-cell carcinoma (SCLC), also called oat-cell carcinoma, is rarely found in people who have never smoked. It is characterized by cells that are small and round, oval, or shaped like oat grains. SCLC is the most aggressive type of lung cancer; because it tends to spread quickly before symptoms become apparent, the survival rate is very low.

Non-small-cell carcinomas

Non-SCLCs consist primarily of three types of tumour: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large-cell carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma accounts for some 25 to 30 percent of cases worldwide, but it is the most common type of lung cancer in the United States. Cells of adenocarcinoma are cube- or column-shaped, and they form structures that resemble glands and are sometimes hollow. Tumours often originate in the smaller, peripheral bronchi. Symptoms at the time of diagnosis often reflect invasion of the lymph nodes, pleura, and both lungs or metastasis to other organs.

Some 25 to 30 percent of primary lung cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, also called epidermoid carcinomas. This tumour is characterized by flat, scale like cells, and it often develops in the larger bronchi of the central portion of the lungs. Squamous cell carcinoma tends to remain localized longer than other types and thus is generally more responsive to treatment.

About 10 percent of all lung cancers are large-cell carcinomas. There is some dispute as to whether these constitute a distinct type of cancer or are merely a group of unusual squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. Large-cell carcinomas can begin in any part of the lung and tend to grow very quickly.

Treatment

As with most cancers, treatments for lung cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The choice of treatment depends on the patient's general health, the stage or extent of the disease, and the type of cancer. The type of treatment an individual patient receives may also be based on the results of genetic screening, which can identify mutations that render some lung cancers susceptible to specific drugs.

Surgery involves the removal of a cancerous segment (segmentectomy), a lobe of the lung (lobectomy), or the entire lung (pneumonectomy). Lung surgery is serious and can lead to complications such as pneumonia or bleeding. Although removal of an entire lung does not prohibit otherwise healthy people from ultimately resuming normal activity, the already poor condition of many patients' lungs results in long-term difficulty in breathing after surgery.

Radiation may be used alone or in conjunction with surgery—either before surgery to shrink tumours or following surgery to destroy small amounts of cancerous tissue. Radiation treatment may be administered as external beams or surgically implanted radioactive pellets (brachytherapy). Side effects include vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue, or additional damage to the lungs. Chemotherapy uses chemicals to destroy cancerous cells, but these chemicals also attack normal cells to varying degrees, causing side effects that are similar to radiation therapy. An experimental technology that has shown promise in the treatment of lung cancer is microwave ablation, which relies on heat derived from microwave energy to kill cancer cells. Early studies in small subsets of patients have demonstrated that microwave ablation can shrink and possibly even eliminate some lung tumours.

Tissue from (left) a nonsmoker's lung and (right) a smoker's lung.

Prevention

The probability of developing lung cancer can be greatly reduced by avoiding smoking. Smokers who quit also reduce their risk significantly. Testing for radon gas and avoiding exposure to coal products, asbestos, and other airborne carcinogens also lowers risk.