Causes and symptoms of Lung Cancer - Essay Example

Lung cancer Introduction Lung cancer, like any other cancer is caused by the abnormal growth of cells in the tissue of the lungs. “There are over million deaths world wide due to lung cancer, making it truly an epidemic” (Driscoll 3).Unlike other cells, the cancer cells do not die programmatic death and divide and grow exponentially. Instead of developing into healthy, normal lung tissue, the cells grow uncontrollably and form lumps called tumors. If a tumor remains in one place and show a limited growth, it is commonly considered to be benign. “Cancer that originates from lung cells is called a primary lung cancer. Primary lung cancer can start in the airways that branch off the trachea to supply the lungs (the bronchi) or in the small air sacs of the lung (the alveoli)” (Hong ,Tsao 2008).Instead if the cancer originated elsewhere and metastasized to the lungs, it is called “secondary”. These two types of cancer are taken as different forms of cancer from diagnostic and treatment perspectives Lung cancer is generally classified into two main types based on the outlook of cancer under a microscope: Non- small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Non – small cell lung cancer is the type found in majority of cases diagnosed, whereas the small cell lung Cancer with lesser cases. “Since lung cancer tends to spread or metastasize very early after it forms, it is a very life-threatening cancer and one of the most difficult cancers to treat”(Stoppler). Cause and symptoms of lung cancer The main cause of lung cancer can be related to smoking and inhaling carcinogens in tobacco smoke. “Air pollution, particularly smoke from fossils, appears to increase the risk of lung cancer but its effect is small compared with that of cigarette smoking”(Williams 20). Several studies have shown that lifetime exposure to smoking can lead to the development of lung cancer. The studies have also shown that radon is the primary cause of lung cancer among non – smokers .Overall it can be said that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon is tasteless, odorless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium water and soil. But the main culprit in the substantial increase in the disease over the last 50 years has been the increase in the number of people smoking cigarette. “Lung cancer may be causally related to cigarette smoking in 90% of cases in men and 79% of cases in women.”(Haustein, Groneberg 88). Another element which cause cancer is exposure to radiation in job areas or through repeated submission to chest x-rays. Even the inhaling of carcinogens like asbestos in the construction sites can lead to lung cancer. Some industrial substances like arsenic, coal products, and nickel chromate can also cause lung cancer. The fault in gene is also found to be a major cause of lung cancer. “While environmental factors -- especially smoking -- are the dominant triggers for lung cancer, researchers have uncovered strong evidence for a genetic predisposition to the disease”(Sharetto ). Literature review The literature to be studied to understand the effect of drug on the treatment of the lung cancer is the one written by Hall & Gray. This is a study and analysis on the immunotherapy trials for the treatment of lung cancer with the use of allogeneic cancer vaccine. Here, a glycol protein known as Mucin 1 is induced in cell to malignant cells to see it reaction with the drug.A clinical trial was also conducted to understand the safety of the drug when it was administered on patients. Toxicity was graded according to the standards of Cancer and Leukemia Group. Another vaccine administered was MUCi antigen on malignant cells. As per Hall (2013,pg22-31)“When expressed by malignant cells, MUC1 has been shown too different structurally from its non – malignant counterpart”. This was performed on 13 patients and injection was administered on a 3 day period. It did give side effects like influenza syndrome, rashes and vertigo. It should be understood that symptoms of lung cancer can be different according to the location of the cancer, and the size of the tumor. This clinical trial had been conducted on patients on non small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. The antigens present in the malignant cell had been a reason for the administration of vaccine is to propagate immune medicate destruction of cancerous cells. These clinical trials were accompanied by chemotherapy and some patients were given higher as well as lower doses of vaccines. The vaccine adjuvant as alam and cyclophosmophide are used but only patients responded positively to the former. It was also seen that the patients had a good response to antibody and serum production which indicate improved survival. 43 patients with two arm dose with alum adjuvant vaccine was studied where antibody and serum level were assessed in the period of 15 days. This EGF vaccine was well tolerated by the patient with a lower toxicity grade of 1-2. However, these toxicities were controlled within 48 hours with vaccine administration. In the clinical trial there were 80 patients who were given chemotherapy treatment along with serum and antibody vaccines. It was noticed that patient with chemotherapy alone had less median score than patients with serum and antibody assisted vaccines. Also this adjuvant immunotherapy showed regression in the tumor. In 7 patients, two of them attained a disease free state at 2 years follow up. This is a successful progression in the clinical trial as lung cancer is a not an easy type of cancer to be controlled. With all the treatments and therapies available, the death from lung cancer is not been able to be controlled. “Current developments in conventional radiological imaging are too early in the stage of development to predict their usefulness in staging of early bronchial carcinoma” (Hirsch 174).This shows that the treatments for lung cancer have a long way to go. Lung cancer was thought to be an illness of the middle – aged or elderly, but physicians throughout the UK are observing increasing number of women in their 30s or early 40s dying There was a second clinical trial where a non – viral allogeneic vaccine and it included 75 patients. After 16 weeks of observation 12 additional vaccinations were administered to the patients. The median showed a significant difference and no adverse advent was noticed among patients with low or high dose of vaccines. This shows that the treatments for lung cancer have a long way to go. Lung cancer was thought to be an illness of the middle – aged or elderly, but physicians throughout the UK are observing increasing number of women in their 30s or early 40s dying .So a comprehensive research and drug trial can come up with many potential drugs which can treat or cure lung cancer completely. In this clinical trial, the main drugs used are viral allogenic and serum adjuvated vaccines. It is seen that the type of lung cancer killing these women are slightly different from that attacking the older people. Older men with lung cancer usually have a history of bronchitis and their cancer surface with a repeated chest infection. But the women who show up with cancer in 30s have a slight different symptom. This is reason for the upsurge in lung cancer among women and this clinical trial was equally effective on men and women. The main treatment option in lung cancer surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy”(Muma 25)There is another radiation therapy called stereo tactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) wherein radiation beams are used to treat the target tumor. The vaccine administered in this clinical trial has shown to reduce the intensity of the spreading of tumor and can increase the survival chances of the patient .However, There can be seen a combined effort from pathologists, clinical scientists, molecular biologist, statisticians and informatics specialists. Collaborative efforts also should be initiated by cancer Research because these programs require sophisticated tools and specialized expertise. The principles of treating lung cancer have changed little over the last 50 years, And remain surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, or a combination of all these. Conclusion In the beginning of 20th century there was no effective treatment for lung cancer. However, in the last 50 year’s surgery proved to be safer, and remain main modality to offer a chance for cure The administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy has also become sophisticated and quality of treatment has improved to a certain degree. “One of the main factor limiting the ability of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to achieve cure is effective dosing”(Chu 5). Despite this the survival rate of the patients has hardly shown any difference since 30 years of time Lung cancer is undoubtedly a subject which requires a great deal of research work The promising areas in the field of research include the study of chemopreventive agents and targeted therapies, both of these depict a potential to cease the advancement of the development of cancerous cell. However, lung cancer is not getting the due attention which it owes, both in funding terms and in awareness among public comparing to other forms of cancer. Link to the article -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23302904 Work Cited Chu, Edward . Physicians Cancer Chemotherapy Drug Manual . U.S.A.: Jones and Barlett Publishers , 2010. Driscoll, Barbara. Lung Cancer : Volume II Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods and Reviews. New Jersey: Humana Press Inc., 2003 Hall, R.D, 2013. Beyond the Standard of Care ;A review of immunotherapy. Cancer Control, 20/1, 22-31. Hirsch, Fred . IASLC textbook of prevention and detection of early lung cancer . Oxon: Taylor& Francis, 2006 Hong, Waung. "Lung Cancer". Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.07.August.2010 ., .Kim, Sung. "Sensitivity and Specificity of Transbronchial Lung Biopsy." Yonsei Medical Journal. 23.1 (1982): 74. Muma, Richard. Patient education: a practical approach. Connecticut: Appleton&Lange, 1996. Sharetto, Carla. "Study Points to Genetic Predisposition for Lung Cancer". Daily News Central. 07.August.2010 . Stoppler, Melissa. "Lung Cancer". Medicine Net. 07.August.2010 < http://www.medicinenet.com/lung_cancer/article.htm> Williams, Chris. Lung cancer: the facts. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Read More