Most lung cancers start in the lining of the bronchi and are thought to develop over a period of many years. There first may be areas of precancerous changes in the lung. These changes do not form a mass or tumor and cannot be seen on an x-ray and they do not cause symptoms. If these precancerous changes turn into true cancer, malignant cells begin to grow. The cancer cells may produce chemicals that cause new blood vessels to form nearby. These new blood cells nourish the cancer cells can continue to grow and form tumor large enough to seen on x-rays. Cancer cells can break away from the original tumor and spread to other parts this is called metastasis. Lung cancer is a life-threatening disease because

Doctors will also do a needle biopsy. The needle biopsy involves a needle being guided into the mass while the lungs are being viewed with fluoroscopy. A sample of the mass is removed and looked at under the microscope to see if cancer cells are present. A bronchoscopy is also used. This is when a fiber optic, flexible, lighted tube is passed through the mouth into the bronchi. This helps find centrally located tumors or blockages in the lungs while the patient is sedated.

Non-small cell cancer accounts for almost 80% of lung cancers. It has three sub-types. The sub-types differ in the size, shape, and chemical make-up. The first sub-type is squamous cell carcinoma and accounts for almost 30% of lung cancers. It is associated with a history of smoking and tends to be found centrally near a bronchi. Another sub-type is adenocarcinoma. This accounts for about 40% of lung cancers and is found in the outer region of the lung. There is one type of adenocarcinoma, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, has a better prognosis than any other type of lung cancer. The last type of NSCLC is large-cell undifferentiated carcinoma. It accounts for about 10% of lung cancers and may appear in any part of the lung and it tends to grow and spread quickly resulting in a poor prognosis.

Personal and medical history also comes into play with lung cancer. People who already have lung cancer have an increased risk of developing another lung cancer. Brothers, sisters and children of those who have had lung cancer may have a slightly higher risk of lung cancer themselves. It is difficult to say how much of this excess risk is due to inherited factors and how much is due to second hand smoke.

During the year 2000, there were about 164,100 new cases of lung cancer. It accounts for about 13.4% of all new cancers. The average age of people diagnosed with lung cancer is 60 and is unusual under the age of 40. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. By the end of 2000, there will be an estimated 156,900 deaths from lung cancer, accounting for 28.4% of all cancer deaths. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate, and prostate cancers combined (American Cancer Society, 2000). Fewer men will have died of lung cancer than in the previous years. This probably reflects the drop in the number of young men who smoke. On the other hand, more women will have died of lung cancer by the end of 2000 than in the previous year. The increase in their death rate is slowing but it hasn’t begun to drop just yet.

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