Also called: Bronchogenic carcinoma Show
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 at risk for lung cancer?Lung cancer can affect anyone, but there are certain factors that raise your risk of getting it:
What are the symptoms of lung cancer?Sometimes lung cancer does not cause any signs or symptoms. It may be found during a chest x-ray done for another condition. If you do have symptoms, they may include:
How is lung cancer diagnosed?Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:
If you do have lung cancer, your provider will do other tests to find out how far 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. 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 include:
The treatments for non-small cell lung cancer include:
Can lung cancer be prevented?Avoiding the risk factors may help to prevent lung cancer:
NIH: National Cancer Institute Start Here
What type of sputum is associated with lung cancer?The most common symptoms of lung cancer are: A cough that does not go away or gets worse. Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm)
Why does lung cancer cause bloody sputum?The source of hemoptysis is often from a bronchial arterial bleed within the tumor, less frequently from tumor erosion into the pulmonary artery (PA), and rarely from systemic arterial rupture (17,18).
Can lung cancer be detected in sputum?If you have a cough and are producing sputum, looking at the sputum under the microscope can sometimes reveal the presence of lung cancer cells. Tissue sample (biopsy). A sample of abnormal cells may be removed in a procedure called a biopsy.
Is it common to cough up blood with lung cancer?Coughing up blood from your respiratory tract (hemoptysis) is a common symptom of lung cancer. Since it's not generally associated with any particular stage of lung cancer over another, it should not affect life expectancy estimates.
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