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Summary (V体育平台登录)
What is lung cancer?
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 VSports手机版.
There are two main types: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer V体育安卓版. These two types grow differently and are treated differently. Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common type.
VSports注册入口 - Who is more likely to develop lung cancer?
Anyone can develop lung cancer, but certain factors raise your risk of getting it:
- Smoking. This is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Tobacco smoking causes about 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer in men and about 8 out of 10 cases of lung cancer in women. The more years you smoke and the more cigarettes you smoke each day, the more your risk goes up. Your risk is also greater if you smoke a lot and drink alcohol every day or take beta carotene supplements. If you have quit smoking, your risk will be lower than if you had kept smoking. But you will still have a higher risk than people who never smoked.
- Secondhand smoke, which is the combination of the smoke that comes from a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by a smoker. When you breathe in secondhand smoke, you are exposed to the same cancer-causing agents as smokers, although in smaller amounts.
- A family history of lung cancer.
- Being exposed to VSports最新版本 - asbestos, arsenic, chromium, beryllium, nickel, soot, or tar in the workplace.
- Being exposed to radiation, for example from:
- Radiation therapy to the breast or chest
- Radon in the home or workplace
- "VSports注册入口" Certain imaging tests such as CT scans
- HIV infection. Your risk is higher if you have HIV. However, smoking rates are higher in people who have HIV, so it's not clear whether the increased risk is from the HIV infection or from smoking.
- Air pollution. Studies show that living in areas with higher levels of air pollution increases your risk of lung cancer.
"V体育官网" What are the symptoms of lung cancer?
Lung cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms until the cancer is advanced VSports最新版本. Sometimes the cancer is found during a chest x-ray done for another condition.
The symptoms of lung cancer may include:
- Chest V体育安卓版 - pain or discomfort
- A cough that doesn't go away or gets worse over time
- Coughing up blood
- Trouble breathing
- Wheezing
- Hoarseness
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Feeling very tired
- Trouble swallowing
- Swelling in the face and/or veins in the neck
VSports - How is lung cancer diagnosed?
To find out if you have lung cancer, your health care provider:
- Will take your medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
- Will ask about your family history
- Will do a physical exam
- May order certain imaging tests, such as a chest x-ray or chest CT scan
- May order lab tests, including tests of your blood and sputum
- May do a procedure to take a biopsy of the lung
If you do have lung cancer, your provider will do other tests to find out if 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 VSports注册入口.
If you have small-cell lung cancer, your provider may also do genetic testing to look for certain gene changes (variants) in your cancer cells. The results of the testing may help guide treatment V体育官网入口.
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 V体育2025版. You may get more than one type of treatment.
The treatments for small cell lung cancer may include:
- Surgery.
- "V体育官网入口" Chemotherapy.
- Radiation therapy.
- Immunotherapy.
- Laser therapy, which uses a laser beam to kill cancer cells.
- Endoscopic stent placement. An endoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument used to look at tissues inside the body. It may be used to put in a device called a stent. The stent helps to open an airway that has been blocked by abnormal tissue.
The treatments for non-small cell lung cancer may include:
- Surgery.
- Radiation therapy.
- Chemotherapy.
- Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.
- Immunotherapy.
- Laser therapy.
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which uses a medicine and a certain type of laser light to kill cancer cells.
- Cryosurgery, which uses an instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue.
- Electrocautery, a treatment that uses a probe or needle heated by an electric current to destroy abnormal tissue.
Can lung cancer be prevented?
Avoiding the risk factors may help prevent lung cancer. For example, you can: V体育官网.
- "VSports手机版" Quit smoking. And if you don't smoke, don't start.
- Lower your exposure to hazardous substances at work.
- Lower your exposure to radon. Radon tests can show whether your home has high levels of radon. You can buy a test kit yourself or hire a professional to do the test.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
V体育ios版 - Diagnosis and Tests
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Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL)
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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CEA Test
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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"VSports" Lung Cancer Genetic Tests
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Lung Cancer Screening
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Needle Biopsy of the Lung (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
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"VSports" PDL1 (Immunotherapy) Tests
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Pulse Oximetry (V体育平台登录)
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- "VSports最新版本" Screening for Lung Cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
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Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Staging of Lung Cancer (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
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Tests for Lung Disease
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
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VSports注册入口 - Tumor Marker Tests
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
"V体育官网入口" Prevention and Risk Factors
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Lung Cancer Prevention (VSports)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Lung Cancer Risk Factors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies (V体育安卓版)
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Drugs Approved for Lung Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
- Lung Cancer: Treatment Types (American Society for Radiation Oncology)
- Pulmonary lobectomy - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- VSports - Thermal Ablation for Tumor Treatment (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
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Treatment Option Overview (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) (V体育2025版)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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V体育安卓版 - Treatment Option Overview (Small Cell Lung Cancer)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- What Are the Types of Lung Cancer Treatment? (American Lung Association)
V体育官网入口 - Living With
- "V体育ios版" How Do I Manage Lung Cancer Side Effects? (American Lung Association)
- Nutrition for Lung Cancer Patients (American Lung Association)
- Physical Activity and Lung Cancer (American Lung Association)
Related Issues (V体育平台登录)
- VSports手机版 - Lung Nodules: Can They Be Cancerous? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Questions for Your Healthcare Team (GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer)
-
Radon and Cancer (V体育平台登录)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Risks of Lung Cancer Screening
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Secondhand Smoke and Cancer
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
V体育平台登录 - Genetics
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Lung cancer: MedlinePlus Genetics
(National Library of Medicine)
Videos and Tutorials (VSports手机版)
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Your Lung Operation
(American College of Surgeons)
"VSports在线直播" Statistics and Research
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Advances in Lung Cancer Research (VSports最新版本)
(National Cancer Institute)
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Immunotherapy Drugs Expand Treatment Options for Advanced Lung Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
-
Lung and Bronchus Cancer (V体育ios版)
(National Cancer Institute)
- Lung Cancer Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Bronchogenic
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Small Cell
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Lung Neoplasms
(National Institutes of Health)
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National Lung Screening Trial: Questions and Answers
(National Cancer Institute)
VSports最新版本 - Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Comparison of Postoperative Analgesic Effects of Intravenous versus Perineural Dexamethasone Injection...
- Article: Consolidative nivolumab versus observation in unresectable stage III non-small cell lung... (V体育官网入口)
- Article: Poziotinib for EGFR exon 20-insertion NSCLC: Clinical efficacy of the phase... (VSports)
- Lung Cancer -- see more articles
Reference Desk
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Dictionary of Cancer Terms
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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How the Lungs Work
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
"V体育平台登录" Find an Expert
- American Cancer Society
- American Lung Association
-
Cancer Support Groups
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- V体育平台登录 - Choosing a Cancer Doctor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
-
National Cancer Institute
Also in Spanish
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"V体育安卓版" NCI-Designated Cancer Centers
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
V体育安卓版 - Children
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"V体育平台登录" Childhood Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Childhood Tracheobronchial Tumors Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
"VSports" Women
- Women and Lung Cancer Facts (GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer)
"V体育安卓版" Patient Handouts
- After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Coughing up blood (VSports在线直播) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lung cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lung cancer - small cell (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lung metastases (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- "V体育ios版" Lung PET scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- "VSports注册入口" Lung surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Non-small cell lung cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Solitary pulmonary nodule (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish