Cancer is a chronic disease that occurs due to mutations in the DNA of cells. Inside it are the instructions for the cell to function properly. When there are changes, errors in the indications are generated and the cells become cancer cells, explains the National Cancer Institute (NIH for its acronym in English).
Among the types of cancer is lung cancer, which arises from the malignant growth of cells of the respiratory tract, particularly in lung tissue. It can spread to the lymph nodes and affect other organs in the body, according to the NIH.
A key feature of lung cancer is that it takes time to show signs. However, this disease, “when symptoms appear, it is because it is generally at such an advanced stage that there is no possibility of a cure,” said the Argentine Association of Respiratory Medicine.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) In 2020, there were 2.21 million deaths caused by lung cancer, a figure that makes it one of the deadliest diseases. In fact, 95% of people who suffer from it are smokers and ex-smokers.
Male smokers are 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokerswhile in women this possibility is 25.7 times, according to the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
However, not only external factors influence the appearance of lung cancer. It is important to highlight that personal or family history affects its appearance responding to genetic factors and there are people who from the beginning of their lives come with a predisposition to develop the pathology.
In Colombia during 2021, more than 4,500 new cases of lung cancer were reported, however, Globocan estimates that to date there are more than 6,000 new cases. In 2022, lung cancer ranked fourth in incidence and mortalityaccording to the Ministry of Health.
There are two types of lung cancer, according to Medline Plus. The first type is that of small cells, which has a faster and more accelerated cell growth, which contributes to a faster propagation. The second type is called non-small cell, and it slows down cancer cells in the body, according to the American Cancer Society.
Signs and symptoms
To identify this disease in time, would have to do a chest tomography on all smokers over 40 years of age, who have consumed a pack a day for 20 years.
Colombia has different procedures to manage this disease when it is not in an advanced stage. In addition, “Treatments and medicines that have been driven by innovation and science are helping patients to have a better quality of life. while they transit the disease”, says the oncology unit of Takeda Colombia.
