November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Introduction

In 2009, an estimated 219,440 people in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer and an estimated 159,390 deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women today and is currently the second most commonly diagnosed cancer for both sexes (behind prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women). There are two kinds of lung cancer based on how the cells look under a microscope: small cell and non-small cell, with the latter usually found in people who smoke or who used to smoke cigarettes. For most patients with non-small cell lung cancer, current treatments do not cure the cancer and participation in a clinical trial should be considered.

Lung cancer risk factors

Anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Researchers have discovered several causes for lung cancer, however most are related to the use of tobacco. Cigarette smoking is by far the most important risk factor in the development of lung cancer. Some of the risk factors for lung cancer are:

• Cigarettes, cigars and pipes – The age at which smoking began, how long the person has smoked, the number of smoking sessions per day and how deeply the smoker inhales are factors in the likelihood of developing lung cancer. Cigar and pipe smokers who do not inhale are at increased risk for lung, mouth and other types of cancer.
• Environmental tobacco smoke – The chance of developing lung cancer is increased by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) – the smoke in the air when someone else smokes. Exposure to ETS, or secondhand smoke, is called involuntary or passive smoking.
• Radon – An invisible, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks that can damage the lungs. People who work in mines may be exposed to radon. Found in every state, radon can be detected in one out of 15 homes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Asbestos – Exposure to large amounts of asbestos results in a risk three to four times greater for developing lung cancer than for those unexposed to asbestos. Workers in such industries as shipbuilding, asbestos mining and manufacturing, insulation work and brake repair risk high exposure and higher lung cancer rates.
• Pollution – Researchers link lung cancer to exposure to certain air pollutants, such as by-products of the combustion of diesel and other fossil fuels. This relationship is not clearly defined and more research is being done.
• Lung diseases – Certain lung diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), increase one's chance of developing lung cancer, which tends to develop in areas of the lung that are scarred from TB.
• Personal history – A lung cancer survivor is more likely to develop lung cancer (a recurrent or second) than a person who has never had lung cancer. Quitting smoking after lung cancer is diagnosed may prevent the development of a second lung cancer.

Lung cancer facts

• Cigarette smoking accounts for nearly 90 percent of all lung cancers.
• Radon is attributed to be the second leading cause for lung cancer, with exposure to industrial chemicals and asbestos the third.
• Lung cancer may be the most tragic cancer because in most cases, it might have been prevented when caused by smoking. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, many of which are proven carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) .
• Permanently giving up smoking greatly reduces a person's risk.

Sources: American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute

Return to top of page