COPD and Lung Health

Lung Carcinoma

Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. About 85% of cases are related to cigarette smoke and is a malignant tumor categorized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of lungs and rarely to other parts of the body. The cases are often caused by a combination of genetic factors and exposure to radon gas, second-hand smoke, asbestos or other forms of air pollution. Lung cancer may be seen on computed tomography and chest radiographs.

Lung cancers are of two types, they grow and spread differently are small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancers. The lungs are giant, tumor grows in them for a prolonged time before they are found. Small-cell lung cancer represents about 15 to 20 %of lung cancers where as Non-Small cell lung cancer represents about 80%. More than two-thirds of nonsmokers having lung cancer are women, and maximum of them posses adenocarcinoma. The general diagnosis of lung cancer is poor because doctors tend not to find the disease until it is at a progressive stage. The survival rate in five year is around 54% for early stage lung cancer that is confined to the lungs, but only around 4% in advanced, inoperable lung cancer.