Essential Facts About Lung Cancer

How much do you really know about this cancer that causes more deaths per year than colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers combined? Although lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of both men and women in the United States, the disease tends to get less public awareness than many other forms of cancer.
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It doesn’t get breast cancer’s pink ribbons or colon cancer’s well-publicized reminders about scheduling a colonoscopy. But given its toll on humanity, maybe it should. We spoke to Quynh-Nhu Nguyen, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to get the facts about lung cancer. Here are 10 essential things that you should know:
Lung cancer is common cancer
It is the most common cancer worldwide, and it’s the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. It tends to target adults over the age of 55. Some two out of three people diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older, and the average age at diagnosis is about 70. Fewer than 2 percent of all cases are found in people younger than 45.
Smoking causes lung cancer
Although tobacco smoking is on the decline in the United States, some 37 percent of Americans are current or former smokers. About 85 percent of all U.S. lung cancer cases are linked to smoking.
Symptom-free disease
Lung cancer most likely begins when precancerous changes occur inside structures of the lungs, including the bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli. Genetic changes inside lung cells can then cause the cells to grow faster. At this point, the cancerous cells can’t be seen on X-rays or other imaging tests, and they don’t cause symptoms.
Over time, these cells can grow into cancerous tumors. The cancer cells can trigger the growth of new blood vessels, which feed the tumor and help it grow until it eventually causes symptoms and can be seen on X-rays or other imaging tests.