Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer. About 90% of lung cancers in men and 80% in women are associated with smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke. A non-smoker living with a smoker poses a 24% risk.
On November 17, World Lung Cancer Day, it is aimed to inform and raise awareness about the disease.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital General Surgery Specialist Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said that lung cancer is the most common type of cancer that causes death.
Stating that lung cancer accounts for approximately 28% of cancer-related deaths, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said, "This rate is higher than the sum of breast, prostate, colon, ovarian and rectal cancers. In a 2008 study, it was predicted that one in every 13 men and one in every 16 women may develop lung cancer during their lifetime."
Early diagnosis and accessibility to treatment are important
Pointing out that sensitivity has increased recently with the increase in awareness and enlightenment, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said, "In line with these factors, the decrease in mortality rates with early diagnosis and treatment has been encouraging. Based on this, we can say that survival in lung cancer is linked to accessibility to medical treatment and early diagnosis."
Smoking is the first risk factor
Emphasizing that smoking is one of the leading risk factors for lung cancers, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said, "Smoking was found to be a known risk factor for 75% of lung cancers worldwide in 2007. Approximately 90% of lung cancer in men and 80% in women have been associated with smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke. Smoking cessation significantly reduces the risk of lung cancer. Radon exposure is implicated in the vast majority of the remaining cancers. Approximately 25% of all lung cancers worldwide and approximately 53% of cancers in women have been determined to be independent of smoking."
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said that environmental tobacco smoke, radon, cooking oil vapor, indoor coal and wood burning, genetic factors, family history, HPV 16 and 18 can be counted among viral factors.
Living with a smoker poses a 24% risk
Pointing out that a non-smoker living with a smoker poses a 24% risk, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said: "The use of any tobacco product, including cigars, is shown as a risk. Environmental exposure to smoke from a large cigar is equivalent to 21 cigarettes. For smokers, this risk increases even more with exposure to environmental smoke. There are more than 7 thousand chemicals in cigarette smoke and more than 70 of them have been found to be carcinogenic."
Asbestos and cigarette smoke multiply the risk
Stating that other causes of lung cancer include exposure to industrial residues such as arsenic, asbestos, chromium compounds, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA said:
"Exposure to asbestos and cigarette smoke together increases the risk exponentially. Existing lung diseases such as COPD and tuberculosis in people who have never smoked also pose a risk of up to 'up to'. The growth of benign nodules and lesions in the lung requires vigilance in terms of cancer. Some of the lung cancers are metastatic cancers caused by the spread of another cancer. The characteristics of metastatic cancers are that they are more numerous, appear more uniform, and are close in time with another cancer. Surgical removal of metastatic diseases provides an important benefit in appropriate patients."
Cough and shortness of breath are the most important symptoms
Stating that the complaints associated with lung cancers are seen as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, bloody sputum (hemoptysis), pneumonia and lung abscesses, chest pain, regional chest wall pain in order of frequency, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA stated that patients will be evaluated under three headings and their treatment will be managed and said the following:
"Evaluation of the primary tumor, evaluation of metastatic disease and evaluation of the patient's lung functions. With a separate approach to each of these areas, it allows the surgeon to systemically evaluate the patient, perform the correct clinical staging and accurately assess the patient's functional capacity for treatment, including pulmonary resection. It applies the most accurate treatment pathway."
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA advised, "The primary precaution to be taken for lung cancer is to keep the air clean and avoid the agents mentioned as risk factors."
Early diagnosis and personalized treatment are important
General Surgery Specialist Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA pointed out the importance of personalized cancer prevention and treatment and said, "Information, enlightenment and lifelong control and follow-up will make a great progress. In the near future, with the further development of existing imaging options and new functional imaging techniques, the chance of catching most tumors at an earlier stage (at a treatable stage) will increase. Another rapidly developing area is the development of serum markers (blood tests)." Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Murat KOCA emphasized that health awareness, timely early diagnosis, balanced food intake considering risk factors, preventive measures such as regulation of environmental factors and workplace if necessary, adequate and necessary surgical and systematic treatment, personalized treatment remove cancer from cancer.