Thoracic Oncology

What You Should Know About Lung Cancer

Facts & Figures

• Each year, 173,000 of the 200,000 Americans who are diagnosed with some form of thoracic cancer will learn they have lung cancer — the No. 1 cancer killer in the United States, causing more deaths among men and women than the next three most common cancers combined: colon, breast and prostate.
  
  
• In 2006, lung cancer will claim an estimated 163,000 lives in the United States, while more than 351,000 Americans are currently living with the disease.
  
  
• During the past two decades, lung cancer has particularly taken its toll on women. Since 1987, more women have died each year of lung cancer than of breast cancer, which had been the major cause of cancer death in women for more than 40 years. And although lung cancer incidence and mortality rates in men have been significantly declining, these rates for women have continued to increase.
  
  
• Nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths are caused by cigarette smoking, which also increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and other life-threatening diseases.
  
  
• Other factors that place individuals at greater risk for developing lung cancer include:
  
  » Exposure to certain industrial substances, such as arsenic, organic chemicals and asbestos (particularly among those who smoke).
  
  » Radiation exposure from occupational, medical and environmental sources.
  
  » Radon exposure, particularly for cigarette smokers.
  
  » Exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke.
  
  » Many times, the symptoms of lung cancer do not appear until the disease is in an advanced stage, making early detection difficult.

Non-Small Cell vs. Small Cell: What’s the Difference?

Lung cancer is generally divided into two major types, depending on the cell type seen under the microscope:

• Non-small cell cancer is the most common form that generally grows and spreads more slowly. There are three types of non-small cell lung cancer — squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma. Treatment usually involves surgery, combined with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or both.
  
  
• Small cell cancer is the more aggressive form and tends to be rapidly growing tumors. It also is usually more likely to spread to other organs in the body. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy — either used alone or concurrently — is the most recommended form of treatment.

To learn more about lung cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and CancerCare.

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