Lung Cancer

Abstract

SummaryLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Since tobacco smoking is the cause in vast majority of cases, the incidence of lung cancer is expected to rise in those countries with high or rising incidence of tobacco smoking. Even though populations at risk of developing lung cancer are easily identified, mass screening for lung cancer is not supported by currently available evidence. In case of non-small cell lung cancer, a cure may be possible with surgical resection followed by post-operative chemotherapy in those diagnosed at an early stage. A small minority of patients who present with locally advanced disease may also benefit from pre-operative chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to down stage the tumor to render is potentially operable. In a vast majority of patients, however, lung cancer presents at an advanced stage and a cure is not possible with currently available therapeutic strategies. Similarly, small cell lung cancer confined to one hemi-thorax may be curable with a combination of chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation followed by prophylactic cranial irradiation, if complete remission is achieved at the primary site. Small cell lung cancer that is spread beyond the confines of one hemi-thorax is, however, considered incurable. In this era of molecular targeted therapies, new agents are constantly undergoing pre-clinical and clinical testing with the aim of targeting the molecular pathways thought be involved in etiology and pathogenesis of lung cancer.

Clinico-pathology of Lung Cancer in a Regional Cancer Center in Northeastern India

“…However, most studies in other parts of the globe that have reported that the incidence of lung cancer among women is on rise (Bal, 2001;Charles, 1991). The dramatic increase of lung cancer among women all over the world is attributed to increase in cigarette consumption that is a well known major risk factor for the development of lung cancer (Peter, 1993;Bal, 2001;Mghfoor and Perry, 2005). In the current study, 88.5% of male patients and 68% of the female patients had history of smoking with male smoker to female smoker ratio of 1.43:1.…”

Clock Time and Embodied Time Experienced by Patients With Inoperable Lung Cancer

“…4,5 Late diagnosis, heavy symptom burden 6,7 throughout the disease trajectory, 8Y10 and short survival times, all make palliative care particularly important for LC patients.…”

Inhibition of c-Myc Down-Regulation by Sustained Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Activation Prevents the Antimetabolite Methotrexate- and Gemcitabine-Induced Differentiation in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells

“…Among the different classes of cancer, lung cancer currently represents the leading cause of cancer mortality in men and women, and within this group pulmonary adenocarcinoma is one of the most common types (Moran, 2006). Surgical resection of these tumors may be an effective treatment for stage I or II lung cancer, but many patients are diagnosed with advanced disease, where surgical cures are ineffective (Maghfoor and Perry, 2005) and make classic chemotherapeutic agents an unavoidable adjuvant treatment. Nevertheless, the most commonly used antineoplastic drugs in lung cancer, especially in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (e.g., gemcitabine, cisplatin, paclitaxel, among others), are associated with high rates of drug resistance and low disease-free survival periods, making this cancer an incurable disease.…”