Essay Instructions: Lung Cancer;
Introduction
Information about the disease (history, causes, treatment options if any, etc)
Possible solutions for reducing the disease
The outline I am following.
1. Introduction
2. History of Lung Cancer
a. In 1878, malignant lung tumors were only 1% of all cancers seen at autopsy
b. In 1918, malignant lung tumors rose to 10% of all cancers seen at autopsy
c. In 1927, malignant lung tumors rose to more than 14% of all cancers seen at autopsy
d. In 1930, the duration of this disease from diagnosis to death was half a year to 2 years. Most had long history of Bronchitis.
e. 1950 the correlation between lung cancer and smoking was proven and linked.
f. 1969, cigarette smoking was highly attributed to lung cancer as well as air pollution. Also chemical that employees come in contact with were looked at as sources.
g. 1987 lung cancer was the most lethal form of cancer among men
h. In 1999 there were 158,900 deaths caused by lung cancer
3. Transmission of Lung Cancer
a. Lung Cancer is not contagious
i. Not an infectious disease
b. Genetics & family history
i. Genetics may predispose certain people to lung cancer. Individuals with an immediate family member who has or had lung cancer (and who does not or did not smoke) may be more prone to developing the disease.
c. Location of Potential Familial Lung Cancer Gene Discovered
i. Researchers have discovered a possible inherited component for lung cancer, a disease normally associated with external causes, such as cigarette smoking.
ii. The researchers found strong evidence that a lung cancer susceptibility gene or genes is co-inherited with a genetic marker on chromosome 6. Markers on chromosomes 12, 14, and 20 also indicated possible linkage to lung cancer susceptibility, although the results were not as strong. Identifying the locus was a critical first step, but more work needs to be done.
iii. The next goal for these researchers is to more closely examine this region of chromosome 6 with the aim of locating the exact gene or genes that cause lung cancer susceptibility
iv. Another interesting discovery the team made involved the effects of smoking on cancer risk for carriers and non-carriers of the predicted familial lung cancer gene
4. Affected Populations
a. The background of lung cancer
i. Personal and family history
ii. Smoking
iii. Symptoms and causes
iv. Family history increases chances of lung cancer
v. Smoking is the is one of the primary causes of lung cancer
vi. Lung cancer is difficult to detect
b. Symptoms of Lung Cancer
i. Lung cancer often does not produce symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms do occur, they are a result of tumor growth, pressure and invasion on nearby structures and nerves, regional growths or metastasis.
ii. Chest pain
iii. Coughing up blood
iv. If lung cancer is suspected, the person will have their medical history taken, a physical examination, and a variety of tests to confirm the diagnosis. Cause may include;
v. Exposure to radiation
vi. Expose to cancer-causing agents through a person?s workplace
c. Affected populations
i. The average age and races of those affected by lung cancer
1. Lung cancer usually occurs in older people. Black men are more likely to develop lung cancer than men of any other racial group. White women and black women are equally likely to developing lung cancer.
2. Men are more likely than women to develop lung cancer
ii. The gender group most affected by lung cancer
1. Men are more likely to develop lung cancer than women but fewer men smoke now than in the past, so the death rate from lung cancer for men is decreasing.
2. The death rate from lung cancer for women is leveling off after increasing for several decades. If you live with a smoker, you have 2 to 3 times the risk for lung cancer compared with a person who lives in a non-smoking environment.
5. Treatment of Lung Cancer
a. Surgery
i. Early-stage lung cancer is often treated with the surgical removal of part or all of the affected lung. However, many lung cancers are not detected until a tumor has spread within the chest.
b. Type of Surgery
i. Mediastinoscopy ? a minimally invasive procedure used to sample the lymph nodes along the main airway to determine how far the tumor has spread.
1. Lung surgery, or thoracotomy, is a procedure where the surgeon opens up the chest cavity to gain access to the lungs. An incision is made in the side of the chest and the ribs are spread apart, so your surgeon can remove cancerous tissue from the lungs.
ii. Thoracoscopy ? a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose and treat lung cancer by accessing the chest through small incisions. It is also called video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).
1. VATS is a minimally invasive technology that our cancer doctors use to perform a lobectomy or wedge resection without opening up the chest. This procedure involves inserting a long, thin tube with an attached camera (thorascope) and small surgical instruments into the chest. Using images from the camera, the surgeon remove cancerous tissues. If you are a candidate for VATS, it offers a quicker recovery time and less pain because no large incision or movement of the ribs is needed. VATS may also be used to biopsy lung tissues and confirm a lung cancer diagnosis, called a thoracoscopy
iii. Wedge resection ? removing a small section of one lung.
iv. Segmentectomy ? removing a segment (part of a lobe) of one lung.
v. Lobectomy ? removing an entire lobe of one lung. The right lung has three lobes, and the left lung has two. Lobectomy is the most common type of lung cancer surgery.
vi. Sleeve resection ? removing a part of the airway with or without the adjoining lung and reattaching the remaining ends to preserve lung tissue and avoid a larger resection.
vii. Pneumonectomy ? removing a lung.
c. Radiation Therapy
i. Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells
ii. The radiation may be delivered by a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, also called brachytherapy).
iii. Systemic radiation therapy uses radioactive substances, such as radioactive iodine, that travel in the blood to kill cancer cells. About half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy sometime during the course of their treatment
d. How does radiation therapy kill cancer cells?
i. .Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA (the molecules inside cells that carry genetic information and pass it from one generation to the next) (1). Radiation therapy can either damage DNA directly or create charged particles (free radicals) within the cells that can in turn damage the DNA.
ii. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and eliminated by the body?s natural processes
6. Chemotherapy
a. Chemotherapy is using anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells or to keep existing cells from dividing
b. Proved effective in reducing the reoccurrence after surgery of high-risk lung cancer
c. Most is given either by injection into a vein or by catheter
d. A few drugs are given in pill form
7. Conclusion
8. References
American Cancer Society (2007). What are the key statistics for lung cancer? Detailed Guide: Lung Cancer?Non?Small Cell. Available online: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1x_What_Are_the_Key_Statistics_About_Lung_Cancer_15.asp?sitearea=.
American Cancer Society (2007). Cancer Facts and Figures 2007, pp. 1?52. Atlanta: American Cancer Society. Available online: http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2007PWSecured.pdf.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). Women and smoking: A report of the Surgeon General. MMWR, 51(RR-12): 1?30.
Theodore PR, Jablons D. (2006). Neoplasms of the lung section of Thoracic wall, pleura, mediastinum, and lung. In GM Doherty, LW Way, eds., Current Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment, 12th ed., pp. 377?389. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Crawford J (2007). Lung cancer. In DC Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 12, chap. New York: WebMD
: http://www.cancercenter.com/lung-cancer/lung-cancer-risk-factors.cfm
http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/2004/lungcancerlocus
http://www.mayoclinic.org/lung-cancer/treatment.html
http://www.cancercenter.com/lung-cancer/surgery.cfm
