Lung Cancer Research Paper

Lung cancer was a relatively rare disease at the beginning of the 20th century but by the end of the century, it had become the main cancer-related public health problem worldwide. (Wingo et al. 2003).

Cancer is recognized as an ‘unbiased killer’ because it knows no gender, age or race of its victims. This disease begins in the cells of the body. In normal conditions, the cells grow and divide as the body needs them. However, this systematic process is interrupted when gene changes make one cell, or a few cells begin to develop and multiply far greater than required. These extra cells bulge together eventually forming a growth or tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant, but when we speak of cancer (including lung cancer), the tumors are …show more content…
Therapy of lung cancer is based on cell type and stage. Early-stage NSCLCs are treated with surgery, and SCLCs, the vast majority of which are in advanced stage at presentation, are treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However, there is a major prevention route which detects lung cancer at an early stage when curative interventions can improve the overall mortality of the disease – this is screening. In the 1970s, lung cancer screening with chest x-ray and sputum cytology was not found to be effective in reducing the number of advanced lung cancers or in reducing lung cancer mortality. However, in recent years, there has been renewed interest in lung cancer screening using high-resolution computed tomography. Since utilizing this advanced technology, results have yielded a decreased incidence of advanced lung cancers (Chirieac and Flieder 2010). The potential impact of screening is greater if a high-risk population can be identified; this is clearly the case in lung cancer where tobacco use accounts for the vast majority of cases. It is clear that prognosis of lung cancer is much better in patients with earlier stages of disease in which complete resection is possible. Therefore, the early detection of disease through screening offers the best, and most realistic opportunity to significantly improve the overall outcome of people with lung …show more content…
Approximately 90% of all cases of lung cancer are due to chronic exposure of the bronchial mucosa to carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. Case control studies published in the 1950s by Wynder and Graham in the United States and Doll and Hill in England provided the first strong scientific link between lung cancer and tobacco use (Wynder and Graham; Doll and Hill 1950). On the other hand, according to (Alberg et al. 2007), cigarette smoking is not always the sole cause of lung cancer – numerous environmental exposures, both occupational and non-occupational, have been associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, including asbestos, radon, air pollution, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and arsenic. In fact, only about 10% of tobacco smokers ever develop lung cancer (Cagle et al. 2008). Host factors, including difference in enzymes that metabolize carcinogens in tobacco smoke and differences in enzymes that repair DNA, affect the development of lung cancer as do the length and amount of exposure to tobacco

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