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Lung cancer
Thelungsaretwolargespongyorganslocatedinsidethechestcavity.Airisbreathedintothe trachea(windpipe)andmovesdowntwotubescalledbronchi,eachgoingtoalung.Thesetubes divideintobronchiolesandthenintotinyairsacscalledalveoli.Lungcancersusuallystartinthe cellsliningtheairways.Therearedifferenttypesoflungcancer,dependingonwhichcellsare affected. Over1,400Victoriansarediagnosedwithlungcancereveryyear.Lungcanceroccursmostoftenin adultsbetweentheagesof40and70whohavesmokedcigarettesforatleast20years.Wedonot knowthecauseinallcases;however,uptonineoutof10lungcancersarecausedbysmoking. LungcanceristhemostcommoncauseofdeathfromcancerinAustralia. Different types of lung cancer Acancerthatstartsinthecellslininganorganisknownasacarcinoma.Therearedifferenttypes oflungcancer,dependingonwhichcellsareaffected.Thetwomaintypesare: Small cell carcinomaoroatcellcarcinoma,namedafteritscellshape.Around15per centoflungcancersaresmallcellcarcinomas.Thistypeofcancerspreadsearlyandshows fewearlysymptoms. Non-small cell carcinomathesecancersaffectthecellsthatlinethemainbronchi.

Ima ge des crip

Different types of non-small cell cancer Someofthedifferenttypesofnon-smallcellcancerinclude: Squamous cell carcinomaisgenerallydiscoveredearlierthanotherlungcancersandhas thebestoutcomeaftertreatment Adenocarcinoma isnowthemostcommontypeinbothmalesandfemales;thereason fortheincreasingincidencemayberelatedtochangingpatternsofsmokingincluding filteredcigarettes Large cell carcinoma Bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinoma.

Sometimesitisnotpossibletotellwhichtypesomeonehas.Thisisbecause,whenthecellsare lookedatunderamicroscope,theyarenotdevelopedenough. Symptoms Commonsymptomsoflungcancerinclude: Persistentcoughand/orneworchangedwheeze Breathlessness Blood-streakedphlegm Painsinthechest Recurringpneumoniaorchestinfections Recurringbronchitis Unexplainedweightloss.

Diagnosis Lungcancerisdiagnosedusinganumberoftests,whichmayinclude: Chest x-rayscancersassmallasonecentimetrecanbespottedonx-rays. Sputum cytologyasampleofsputum(phlegm)isexaminedunderamicroscopeto checkforabnormalcells.

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Bronchoscopyaflexibletubeisinsertedthroughthemouthornoseanddownthe trachea,allowingthedoctortolookatthelungtissueandtakeasmallsampleoftissue andphlegm. Fine needle aspirationasmallsampleoftissueisremovedusinganeedleinserted throughthechestwall. Mediastinoscopyaflexibletubeisinsertedintoacutintheneckanddowntothe lymphnodestocheckforcancercellsinthelymphnodes. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeryinstrumentssimilartobronchoscopesare insertedintothechestwallundergeneralanaestheticandtissuesamplesmaybetaken. Computed tomography (CT) scanaspecialisedx-raytakenfrommanydifferent angles,tobuildathree-dimensionalpictureofyourbody. Fluoro-Deoxy Glucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan usedin diagnosisandstagingoflungcancer.Thistestinvolveshavinganinjectionofasmall amountofradioactivematerial.Usingthesignalsfromthisradioactiveinjection,ascanner canbuildupapictureofthebody. Other testsincludingbonescans,toseeifthecancerhasspreadtootherpartsofthe body.

Treatment Lungcanceriscategorisedintostagesaccordingtoitsspread.Thishelpsthedoctorstodecideon appropriatetreatments.Treatmentoptionsinclude: Surgerytoremovetheaffectedpartofthelung(lobectomy)oranentirelung (pneumonectomy).Thisoffersthebestchanceofcureifthecancerhasnotspreadbeyond thelungs. Chemotherapyanti-cancerdrugsaregiventostopcancercellsfrommultiplying.This treatmentismosteffectiveforsmallcellcarcinoma. Radiotherapytheuseofx-raystotargetandkillcancercells.Radiotherapymaybe usedagainstsomeearlystagelungcancersandtostopcancerinthelymphnodesfrom spreadingfurther.Prophylacticbrainradiotherapyisoftenofferedtopeoplewithsmallcell lungcancertoreducetheriskoftheirlungcancerspreadingtotheirbrain. Multimodality therapy forsomepeople,severaltreatmentsusedtogethergivethebest results. Targeted therapyuseofsmallmolecules,oftenintabletform,thatmaybeusedafter chemotherapy. Clinical trials participationinaclinicaltrialthatinvestigatesthesafetyandeffectiveness ofnoveldrugsmaybeoffered.

Aswithmostcancers,theresultsarebestifthecancerisdiagnosedinitsearlieststages.However, somelungcancersarentdiagnoseduntiltheyarequiteadvanced.Treatmentmaythenbelimited toeasingthesymptomsandcaninclude: Radiotherapy and chemotherapytocontainthecancer. Medicationincludingpainrelievers. Surgerytoremovecancersthatareblockingmainairwaysortosealbleedingblood vessels. Quit smoking programs peoplediagnosedwithcancerhaveseenbenefitsrangingfrom increasedlongevity(lengthoflife)andimprovedqualityoflife,dependingontheirdisease status,oncetheyquitsmoking.

Where to get help Yourdoctor TheCancerCouncilVictoria,InformationandSupportServiceTel.131120 MultilingualCancerInformationLine,Victoria-seetheCCVwebsiteforcontactdetails TheAustralianLungFoundationTel.1800654301 QuitlineTel.137848www.quit.org.au PalliativeCareVictoriaTel.(03)96629644

Things to remember Over1,400Victoriansarediagnosedwithlungcancereveryyear. Mostlungcancersarecausedbycigarettesmoking. Therearedifferenttypesoflungcancer,dependingonwhichcellsareaffected.

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This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

CancerCouncilVictoria

Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

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