The Country's Leading Cancer Killer

By Arkadiusz Dudek, M.D.

This year, nearly 2,400 Minnesotans will be diagnosed with lung cancer, the nation's leading cause of cancer death. Lung cancer is a particularly deadly disease because it often is not detected at an early stage, when it is most curable.

Like all types of cancer, lung cancer occurs because of an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which reproduce rapidly and form tumors. Lung cancer often develops over many years and almost always begins in just one lung. After time, cancer cells often break from the tumor and spread to other parts of the body, including the other lung, bones, brain, or liver.

The chances of curing lung cancer are greatest when the disease is detected early or before it has spread. Depending on the type and stage of the disease, surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy can be used to treat lung cancer.

The most common symptoms of early stage lung cancer persistent cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, and wheezing often are mistaken for a cold, bronchitis, or allergies. Unfortunately, most lung cancers do not cause symptoms until they have spread. When lung cancer is found early, it is often as a result of a chest X-ray or other test that was being done for another reason.

According to the American Cancer Society, eight out of 10 people who develop lung cancer have been cigarette smokers. As the number of cigarettes smoked and the length of time a person has smoked increases, so does the risk for lung cancer. The good news is stopping smoking at any age lowers the risk.

Although the mainstream media has focused on the harm of cigarette smoking, cigar and pipe smoking are just as likely to cause lung cancer. Also, there is no scientific evidence that smoking low-tar cigarettes, which are advertised as having reduced carcinogens, reduces the risk of lung cancer.

Tobacco smoke also can affect a nonsmoker's risk for lung cancer. For example, a University of Minnesota study completed earlier this year found that non-smoking spouses of smokers have a greater risk of developing lung cancer than do spouses of nonsmokers. Research is continuing in this area, including how specific cancer-causing agents found in tobacco affect children exposed to secondhand smoke.

Exposure to certain minerals, radioactive gases, and asbestos also can lead to lung cancer. Although this type of exposure is less common than tobacco smoke, it can be just as deadly. Last year, Minnesota Congressman Bruce Vento died from mesothelioma, a rare type of lung cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers.

A more recent focus of lung cancer research has looked at the role gender plays in the development of the disease. Scientific studies have found that a gene that accelerates lung cancer growth is more active in women, making them more likely than men to develop lung cancer.

Arkadiusz Dudek is an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's medicine department and a member of the university's Cancer Center. This is an educational service and advice presented should not take the place of an examination by a physician. To learn more about lung cancer, visit the University of Minnesota Cancer Center's Web site,  www.cancer.umn.edu , or call the toll-free information line at 1-888 CANCER MN (1-888-226-2376) or 612-624-2620. For more health-related information, go to www.healthtalkandyou.com .