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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
Latest News
- Many with Advanced Lung Cancer Don't Get Treatments That Might Help (01/20/2017, HealthDay)
- Delaying Chemo After Lung Cancer Surgery? Better Late Than Never (01/06/2017, HealthDay)
- Immune-Focused Drug Shows Promise Against Lung Cancer (12/13/2016, HealthDay)
- More News on Lung Cancer
Diagnosis and Tests
- Chest CT Scan (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Lung Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Needle Biopsy of the Lung (Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology) 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
- What Is a Chest X Ray? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- What is Bronchoscopy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- 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)
- Pulmonary lobectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer (American Society for Radiation Oncology) - PDF
- Radiofrequency Ablation of Lung Tumors (Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology) 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
- Coping with Side Effects (American Lung Association)
- Nutrition (American Lung Association)
Related Issues
- Can Lung Nodules Be Cancerous? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Questions to Ask My 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
- Your Lung Operation: After Your Operation (American College of Surgeons)
Statistics and Research
- Crizotinib Improves Progression-Free Survival in Some Patients with 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 ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Reference Desk
- Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Lung Cancer: Glossary (Lung Cancer Alliance)
- What Are the Lungs? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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 (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