Lung cancer is a disease of the bronchial cells. Smoking is the first risk factor for its development, responsible for 80% of bronchial cancers. But will all smokers get lung cancer? What are the symptoms ?
Will all smokers get lung cancer?
No, it’s not that systematic. “Nevertheless, tobacco is responsible for the majority of lung cancers (more than 46,000 new cases per year) and the first cause of cancer death in France (more than 33,000 deaths per year) according to theInstitut National du Cancer, remarks Pr. Norbert Ifrah. Moreover, not all smokers develop this disease but they can develop other cancers : tobacco is responsible for 17 different cancers“.
What is the percentage of lung cancer in smokers?
Tobacco is the first preventable risk factor, responsible for 20% of new cases of cancer each year. The proportion of lung cancer attributable to tobacco is 8 out of 10 lung cancersregardless of the form of tobacco (cigarette, hookah, cigar, cannabis, cigarillos, etc.) according to the league once morest cancer. “Contrary to popular belief, the duration of smoking is more dangerous than the amount of tobacco smoked, adds Prof. Ifrah. ATinsi, lquitting smoking will always be beneficial to health, regardless of the age of withdrawal“.
Why do some smokers have healthy lungs?
It’s a rare thing, but some smokers maintain healthy lungs, suffering neither from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) nor from lung cancer. According to a study conducted by British researchers in 2015 on 50,000 people and published in The Lancet Journal, the answer is in their DNA : a mutation of certain genes would make it possible to block the deleterious effects of tobacco on the lungs and would thus preserve them from seeing the development of serious diseases, such as bronchial cancer.
8 out of 10 lung cancers are attributed to tobacco
Can lung cancer appear in a passive smoker?
“Yes. Every year, in France nearly 1,100 deaths are linked to passive smokingincluding 150 by lung cancer“, says Prof. Ifrah. A passive smoker is someone who involuntarily inhales cigarette smoke from another person, which contains carcinogenic chemicals (smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, 70 of which are known carcinogens). According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), linhaling increases the risk of developing lung cancer by 1.2.
What are the symptoms of lung cancer in smokers?
“Symptoms of lung cancer are not specific to this disease, i.e. they can have other causes, isays our expert. Common symptoms combine breathing problems and an unexplained change in your general condition“. It is :
- From fatigue
- The appearance of a cough
- Of the sputum sanguinolentes
- Of the breathing difficulties
- Of the lung infections repeat
- And weight loss
- A loss of appetite
- Of the headache
Less common symptoms are:
The 5-year survival prognosis remains poor
- A change in the voice or its persistent extinction
- wheezing
- Difficulties swallowing
- Significant chest pain
- Edema of the face and neck
- Pain from neck to arm
If these symptoms persist, especially when you are a smoker, a medical consultation is necessary.
What is the average age of onset of lung cancer in smokers?
According to the latest statistics from the National Cancer Institute, the median age at diagnosis of lung cancer in France is 67 for men and 65 for women. But young people smoking earlier and earlier, the disease can appear from the age of 40.
What treatment to treat lung cancer?
Three types of treatments are used in first intention to treat lung cancer: surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments (conventional chemotherapy, targeted therapies, specific immunotherapies). These treatments can be used alone or combined with each other. The choice of treatments depends on your personal case, that is to say the stage of your disease, your general state of health, the location of the tumor and its histological type, in other words the nature of the tissues.
What is the life expectancy with lung cancer in a smoker?
“There have been significant advances in the treatment of lung cancersays Prof. Ifrah. However, the 5-year survival prognosis remains poor. According to our figures published in 2020, it is estimated at 20% for all sexes combined (respectively 24% for women and 18% for men)“. Life expectancy depends enormously on the type of cancer and the stage at diagnosis (extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis). If lung cancer remains the deadliest in France, its mortality rate between 1990 and 2018 decreased by 1.6% in men on average. However, it increased by 3%. in the woman.
Thanks to Prof. Norbert Ifrah, President of the National Cancer Institute.
Sources.
– Lung Cancer, National Cancer Institute (InCa)
– Tobacco is still the first risk of cancer, La Ligue contre le Cancer, 2020
– New insights into the genetics of smoking behavior, lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, September 27, 2015
