- Acute Flaccid Myelitis
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Arteriovenous Malformations
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Back Pain
- Brain Aneurysm
- Brain Tumors
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- Memory
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- Movement Disorders
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- A1C
- Blood Glucose
- Diabetes
- Diabetes and Pregnancy
- Diabetes Complications
- Diabetes in Children and Teens
- Diabetes Medicines
- Diabetes Type 1
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- Diabetic Diet
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- Diabetic Kidney Problems
- Diabetic Nerve Problems
- How to Prevent Diabetes
- Hyperglycemia
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- Breast Diseases
- Breast Reconstruction
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- Cervical Cancer
- Cervical Cancer Screening
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- Health Problems in Pregnancy
- High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy
- HIV and Pregnancy
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- HPV
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- Mammography
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- Ovarian Cancer
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- Ovarian Disorders
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- Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know
- Cholesterol Medicines
- DASH Eating Plan
- Eating Disorders
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- HDL: The “Good” Cholesterol
- High Cholesterol in Children and Teens
- How to Lower Cholesterol
- How to Lower Cholesterol with Diet
- Infant and Newborn Nutrition
- LDL: The “Bad” Cholesterol
- Malabsorption Syndromes
- Nutrition for Older Adults
- Pregnancy and Nutrition
- Toddler Nutrition
- Triglycerides
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- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
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- Rare Diseases
- Raynaud’s Disease
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- Stuttering
Lung Cancer
Summary
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.
There are two main types: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. These two types grow differently and are treated differently. Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common type.
Who is at risk for lung cancer?
Lung cancer can affect anyone, but there are certain factors that 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 earlier in life you start smoking, the longer you smoke, and the more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater your risk of lung cancer. The 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 smoke that comes from a cigarette and smoke breathed out by a smoker. When you inhale it, you are exposed to the same cancer-causing agents as smokers, although in smaller amounts.
- Family history of lung cancer
- Being exposed to asbestos, arsenic, chromium, beryllium, nickel, soot, or tar in the workplace
- Being exposed to radiation, such as from
- Radiation therapy to the breast or chest
- Radon in the home or workplace
- Certain imaging tests such as CT scans
- HIV infection
- Air pollution
What are the symptoms of lung cancer?
Sometimes lung cancer does not cause any signs or symptoms. It may be found during a chest x-ray done for another condition.
If you do have symptoms, they may include:
- Chest pain or discomfort
- A cough that doesn’t go away or gets worse over time
- Trouble breathing
- Wheezing
- Blood in sputum (mucus coughed up from the lungs)
- Hoarseness
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Fatigue
- Trouble swallowing
- Swelling in the face and/or veins in the neck
How is lung cancer diagnosed?
Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:
- A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
- A family history
- A physical exam
- Certain imaging tests, such as a chest x-ray or chest CT scans
- Lab tests, including tests of your blood and sputum
- A biopsy of the lung
If you do have lung cancer, your provider will do other tests to find out how far 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.
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. You may get more than one type of treatment.
The treatments for small cell lung cancer include:
- Surgery
- 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 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 to prevent lung cancer:
- Quitting smoking. 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
National Cancer Institute
Statistics and Research
- Advances in Lung Cancer Research National Cancer Institute
- Immunotherapy Drugs Expand Treatment Options for Advanced Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Lung and Bronchus Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Lung Cancer Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Patient Handouts
- After chemotherapy – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
- Coughing up blood Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung cancer Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung cancer – non-small cell Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung cancer – small cell Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung PET scan Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung surgery Medical Encyclopedia
- Metastatic cancer to the lung Medical Encyclopedia
- Solitary pulmonary nodule Medical Encyclopedia
Find an Expert
- American Cancer Society American Cancer Society
- American Lung Association American Lung Association
- Find a Cancer Doctor American Society of Clinical Oncology
- National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute
- NCI Designated Cancer Centers National Cancer Institute
- Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services National Cancer Institute
Encyclopedia
- Bronchoscopy Medical Encyclopedia
- Chest CT Medical Encyclopedia
- Chest MRI Medical Encyclopedia
- Chest radiation – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
- Chest x-ray Medical Encyclopedia
- Cytology exam of pleural fluid Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung needle biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
- Lung surgery – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
- Mediastinoscopy with biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
- Metastatic pleural tumor Medical Encyclopedia
- Open lung biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
- Open pleural biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
- Pleural needle biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
Diagnosis and Tests
- Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) National Library of Medicine
- CEA Test National Library of Medicine
- Lung Cancer Screening National Cancer Institute
- Lung Cancer Tumor Markers National Library of Medicine
- Needle Biopsy of the Lung Radiological Society of North America
- PDL1 (Immunotherapy) Tests National Library of Medicine
- Pulse Oximetry National Library of Medicine
- Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Staging of Lung Cancer American Thoracic Society
- Tests for Lung Disease National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Tumor Marker Tests National Library of Medicine
- Who Should Be Screened for Lung Cancer? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Children
- Childhood Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Treatment National Cancer Institute
- Childhood Tracheobronchial Tumors Treatment National Cancer Institute
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Bronchogenic National Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung National Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Small Cell National Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Lung Neoplasms National Institutes of Health
- National Lung Screening Trial: Questions and Answers National Cancer Institute
Reference Desk
- Dictionary of Cancer Terms National Cancer Institute
- How the Lungs Work National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Treatments and Therapies
- Drugs Approved for Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Lung Cancer: Treatment Types American Society for Radiation Oncology
- Pulmonary lobectomy – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
- Thermal Ablation for Tumor Treatment Radiological Society of North America
- Treatment Option Overview (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) National Cancer Institute
- Treatment Option Overview (Small Cell Lung Cancer) National Cancer Institute
- What Are the Types of Lung Cancer Treatment? American Lung Association
Start Here
- General Information about Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- General Information about Small Cell Lung Cancer National Cancer Institute
- What Is Lung Cancer? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NIH MedlinePlus Magazine
- Getting an Accurate Read on Pulse Oximeters
- Racing Against Lung Cancer: Imaging Tools Help Patient in Cancer Fight
Living With
- 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
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Lung Cancer Prevention National Cancer Institute
- What Are the Risk Factors for Lung Cancer? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Genetics
- Lung cancer: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- Lung Nodules: Can They Be Cancerous? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Questions for Your Healthcare Team GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer
- Radon and Cancer National Cancer Institute
- Risks of Lung Cancer Screening National Cancer Institute
- Secondhand Smoke and Cancer National Cancer Institute
Journal Articles
Women
- Women and Lung Cancer Facts GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer
Videos and Tutorials
- Your Lung Operation American College of Surgeons