Lung Cancer

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also increase risk.

Common symptoms of lung cancer include

• A cough that doesn't go away and gets worse over time
• Constant chest pain
• Coughing up blood
• Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness
• Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis
• Swelling of the neck and face
• Loss of appetite or weight loss
• Fatigue

Doctors diagnose lung cancer using a physical exam, imaging, and lab tests. Treatment depends on the type, stage, and how advanced it is. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• General Information about Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• General Information about Small Cell Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Lung Cancer? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Chest X-Ray (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Lung Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Lung Cancer Tumor Markers (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Needle Biopsy of the Lung (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• PDL1 (Immunotherapy) Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Staging of Lung Cancer (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Tumor Marker Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• What is Bronchoscopy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Screening Tests Are There? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Lung Cancer Prevention (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Are the Risk Factors? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Drugs Approved for Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• How are Lung Cancer Treatment Decisions Made? (American Lung Association)
• Lung Cancer: Treatment Types (American Society for Radiation Oncology)
• Pulmonary lobectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Radiofrequency Ablation of Lung Tumors (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Small Cell Lung Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Options by Stage (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Options by Stage (Small Cell Lung Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• How Do I Manage Side Effects? (American Lung Association)
• Nutrition for Lung Cancer (American Lung Association)
• Physical Activity (American Lung Association)

Related Issues

• Can Lung Nodules Be Cancerous? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Questions for Your Healthcare Team (Lung Cancer Alliance)
• Radon and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Risks of Lung Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Secondhand Smoke and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: lung cancer (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Robotic-Assisted Surgery: Lung Resection (BroadcastMed) - Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, 2/28/2014
• Your Lung Operation: After Your Operation (American College of Surgeons)

Statistics and Research

• Immunotherapy Drugs Expand Treatment Options for Advanced Lung Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• Lung and Bronchus Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• Lung Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Lung Cancer Rates by State (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Lung Cancer Trends (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

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)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Characterisation of gut, lung, and upper airways microbiota in patients...
• Article: The prognostic value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio in...
• Article: S-1 plus cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy for stage III non-small...
• Lung Cancer -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• How the Lungs Work (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Lung Cancer: Glossary (Lung Cancer Alliance)

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• American Lung Association
• Find a Cancer Doctor (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• NCI Designated Cancer Centers (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Organizations That Offer Support Services (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Children

• Pleuropulmonary Blastoma - Childhood (American Society of Clinical Oncology)

Women

• Women and Lung Cancer Facts (Lung Cancer Alliance) - PDF

Patient Handouts

• After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Coughing up blood (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung cancer - non-small cell (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung cancer - small cell (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung PET scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Metastatic cancer to the lung (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Solitary pulmonary nodule (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Understanding Chemotherapy (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish
• What to Know about Brachytherapy (A Type of Internal Radiation Therapy) (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish
• What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish