Lung cancer
Lung cancer or lung carcinoma is a type of cancer that causes by the uncontrollable growth of cells in the tissues of the lungs. Lung Tumor is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women worldwide.
There are mainly two types of lung cancer, which grow and spread differently, they are:
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC): This is the most common type of lung cancer that usually starts in the bronchi, which grows very quickly and metasise throughout the body.
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): It is a type of epithelial lung cancer which starts from different type of lung cells. But they are grouped together as NSCLC. Adenocarcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma, Large cell carcinoma are the subtypes of NSCLC
Causes & Risk Factors
Mostly lung cancer occurs in people who smoke or in people exposed to second hand smoke, passive exposure to tobacco smoke and it may also occur due to genetic mutation.
There are a number of risk factors that increase the risk of lung cancer. Some risk can be controlled and others cannot be controlled. The most common risk factors of lung cancer include:
- Exposure to asbestos or other carcinogens
- Exposure to radon gas
- Ionization radiation
- Family history of lung cancer
- Personal history of lung cancer
- Previous radiation therapy to chest
- Exposure to chemicals released from burning fossil fuels
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of lung cancer varies depending upon where and how wide spread the cancer cells are, in some cases it may cause without pain and symptoms. The following are the most common symptoms a person with lung cancer may experience:
- Persistent cough and wheezing
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing up blood or phlegm
- Persistent bronchitis or repeated respiratory infections like pneumonia
- Chest pain that worsens when breathe deeply, cough or laugh
- Weakness or fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Unexplained weight loss
Diagnosis
If a person is suspected to be having lung cancer, the doctor may order for a number of tests (screening tests), which looks for the presence of cancerous cell, the tests include:
- Imaging tests: An X-ray helps to find out abnormal mass or nodules in the lungs and a CT scan helps to find out small lesions in the lungs that might not be detected on an X-ray.
- Biopsy: A tissue sample or a sample of abnormal cells will be removed during this procedure and it will be carefully analyzed in a lab to find out the type of lung cancer.
- Sputum cytology: If the patient is coughing and producing sputum, the sputum will be viewed under a microscope this may help to find the presence of lung cancer cells
Treatment
The treatment options for lung cancer include:
Surgical oncologists are specialized in treating lung cancer surgically. Dr Shiva Kumar is one of the prominent surgical oncologist and cancer doctor in North Bangalore Hospital, provides comprehensive and high quality cancer treatment to the needy people.
Authored By : Dr. Shiva Kumar Uppala
