Sometimes when the primary tumor has been removed and the cancer has spread to only limited areas of the lung, lung tumors can be removed with surgery. However, the primary tumor should be curable lung tumors must be completely removed and the patient should be strong enough to undergo surgery and recovery.

Other less common treatments include:

* Radiotherapy
* Placement of stents within the airways
* Laser therapy

There are other experimental treatments, one of which local heat sensors used to destroy the area. Another infuse chemotherapy directly into the artery that supplies blood to the part of the lung containing the tumor.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. It is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. A greater number of cigarettes they smoke daily newspapers and the younger you start smoking, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer. Exposure to high levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos can also increase the risk.

Common symptoms of lung cancer include:

1. A cough that does not go away and worsens over time
2. Constant chest pain
3. Cough with bloody sputum
4. Shortness of breath, wheezing or hoarseness
5. Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis
6. Loss of appetite or weight loss
7. Fatigue

There are many types of lung cancer. Each grows and spreads differently and treated differently. Treatment also depends on the stage or how far along you are. Treatment can include chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Only 15 to 20% of lung cancers are detected in its early stages because the symptoms are delayed. In many cases the diagnosis is usually incidental, that is, by medical evidence that you had another purpose. When diagnosed with lung cancer, additional tests are performed to evaluate different tumor stage (if the initial or advanced) as well as lung capacity and general condition.

The prognosis and treatment depend on the size and the extent of having cancer (stage), and the histologic type of tumor. The surgery involves removing the lung area containing the tumor (lung lobe) and lymph nodes in the chest and is the treatment of choice in the early stages of the disease. Chemotherapy involves using drugs to kill cancer cells and radiation therapy using high energy X rays. These last two treatments are used in more advanced stages or in patients which can not be performed surgery.

How can detect early stage lung cancer?
An early-stage lung cancer can be diagnosed early by detecting a lung nodule in chest x-ray or a CT scan. Latter being much more sensitive and accurate. Lung nodules can be benign (infections, scars or benign) or represent an early stage lung cancer. The importance of early diagnosis is that surgery in early stages is the only treatment that can cure lung cancer.

The lung cancer is a malignant tumor that usually originates in the cells lining the bronchi (bronchial epithelium). It is produced mainly by irritation and chronic inflammation of the bronchial epithelium by external agents (carcinogens), wherein the cigarette smoke. Proceeds from this chronic irritation and genetic mutations occur that lead to rapid and uncontrolled growth of certain cells, called malignant transformation, thus creating a cancer. Finally when we continue to grow the tumor, some cells may travel to other organs of the body, giving rise to metastases.

The snuff is the main risk factor. Also influenced by other external actors such as exposure to carcinogens such as asbestos, other minerals and radioactive gases, marijuana use, environmental pollution and recurrent inflammation of tuberculosis and some types of pneumonia, among others. There is also an important genetic predisposition that makes some people more likely to develop cancer when exposed to these carcinogens or even without exposure.

• Step hidden. Cancer cells are found in sputum, but you can not find any tumor in the lung.
• Stage 0. The cancer is localized in one area, in some cell layers only, and no growth through the lining of the lung. Another term for this type of lung cancer is “carcinoma in situ.”
• Stage I. The cancer is found only in the lung and is surrounded by normal tissue. * Stage II The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
• Stage III. The cancer has spread to the chest wall or diaphragm near the lung, or the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the area that separates the two lungs (mediastinum) lymph nodes or across the chest, or neck.
• Stage IV. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Recurrent cancer has returned after being treated.

In the classification of lung cancer small cell stage talks that follow:

• Limited Stage Cancer is found only in one lung and nearby lymph nodes.
• Extensive Stage Cancer has spread outside the lung where it originated to other tissues of the chest or other body parts.
• Step appellant. The disease has recurred after being treated, whether in the lungs or other body part.
• Step appellant. The disease has recurred after being treated, whether in the lungs or other body part.

Smoking is considered the primary cause of lung cancer and asbestos as the primary cause of mesothelioma. Asbestos can also cause lung cancer. Smoking does not cause mesothelioma. People who have been exposed to asbestos and also smoke have up to 90 times more likely to be affected with lung cancer than those who do not smoke.

Some of the symptoms of lung cancer are similar to the symptoms of mesothelioma. Lung cancer cell carcinoma and small cell cancer can cause symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, bloody sputum, chest pain and wheezing. Adenocarcinomas are most common on the outside of the lung and can cause pain in the chest when breathing, coughing and breathing problems. Sometimes there are patients who have no symptoms when the disease is first detected through a chest x-ray.

Bronchoscopy

It is a procedure designed to look inside the airways of the lungs. It involves inserting a thin, flexible tube down the throat into the airways. The tube allows the doctor to look inside. Your doctor might also take samples of tissues and cells (biopsy) during bronchoscopy.

Bronchial biopsy

Bronchial biopsy is performed by inserting a bronchoscope through the larynx of the patient. The bronchoscope is a camera that allows the doctor to see as you enter the unit. The bronchoscope is also a small hole that allows to remove pieces of tissue. These tissues are then sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Mediastinoscopy

This is the procedure that examines the mediastinum. This area is located in the center of the chest, right in the middle of the lungs and contains the heart, blood vessels and lymph nodes.

Needle biopsy

For this procedure, the doctor uses a fine needle to take samples and examine cells under a microscope. This test can be uncomfortable, but only takes a few minutes. The doctor may also use X-rays, CT scan or ultrasound to guide a biopsy needle during outpatient. The biopsy can be performed during surgery.

Wedge biopsy

For this procedure the surgeon makes an incision through the skin and removes a wedge of tissue from the tumor and sent to a lab for analysis. For this procedure, the patient must be under general anesthesia. Sometimes you use this type of biopsy when other biopsy methods have not been able to confirm a diagnosis.

Thoracoscopy (video-assisted VAT)

The doctor may request this procedure to drain fluid from the sac (pleura) that surrounds the lungs, also known as pleural effusion. This procedure can also be used to take samples of lung tissue or lymph nodes in the mediastinum. A tube with a scope on the tip, allows the doctor to see inside your chest. This tube also allows the physician to take samples of fluids, and sent to the pathology laboratory for analysis.

Lynsey Scott, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, received in February 2009 a double lung transplant from a donor who had smoked for 30 years. Scott died of pneumonia in July, this 28 year old British woman received a lung transplant from a donor smoking without knowing it, and it is precisely this that would like to discuss, because in principle the patient receiving a transplant should know that the national you receive is not entirely new, and the fact that the family found out later that the donor was a smoker does not different, I do not think knowing that Scott had refused to receive the lungs.

True, the donor was a smoker, but also had to be true that state encotraban lungs sufficiently acceptable to be transplanted. I believe that death was in the way of Scott and sooner or later was going to achieve, but from my point of view it would not help the patient to receive more information on the life led by the donor when a transplant itself represents life expectancy.

Tumor antigens have been identified in several types of cancer, including malignant melanoma, bone cancer (osteosarcoma) and some types of gastrointestinal cancers. People with these cancers can develop antibodies against these tumor antigens, but antigens usually do not produce an adequate immune response to cancer control. In addition, antibodies may be incapable of destroying the cancer and sometimes even seems to stimulate their growth.

However, it is possible to take advantage of certain tumor antigens. The antigens released into the blood by some cancers can be detected by blood tests. Sometimes these antigens are called tumor markers. The possible use of these tumor markers as a method of detecting cancer in people who have no symptoms has gained great interest. However, because tests are expensive and not very decisive, systematic use in research is generally undesirable for most cases. On the other hand, are much more valuable in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. For example, blood tests can help determine if cancer treatment is effective. If the tumor marker disappears from the blood, therapy has probably been effective. If the marker disappears and then reappears, possibly cancer has returned.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a tumor antigen that is found in the blood of people with colon cancer, breast, pancreas, bladder, ovary and cervix. High amounts of this antigen can also be detected in heavy smokers and in those with liver cirrhosis or ulcerative colitis. Therefore, the presence of a large amount of CEA means the existence of cancer. Measurement of carcinoembryonic antigen values in people who have been treated for cancer, help detect a recurrence of it.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which is normally produced by liver cells in the fetus is in the blood of people with liver cancer (hepatoma) and often in people with certain cancers of the ovary or testis and children or young adults with tumors of the pineal gland.

Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (b-HCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy, which serves as the basis for the analysis of the same, also occurs in women who have a cancer originating in the placenta and in men with various types of testicular cancer. This hormone is a useful tumor marker in monitoring therapy for these cancers, as it has helped improve the cure rate in more than 95 percent of cases.

The values of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are elevated in men with noncancerous growths (benign) prostate and significantly in those with prostate cancer. The value above which should be considered significant is still uncertain, but individuals with a high amount of this antigen should be subjected to other tests to find prostate cancer. With the determination of the amount of prostate-specific antigen in the blood after treatment of cancer, can you tell if it has reappeared.

The CA-125 is another antigen. Their values in the blood rises appreciably in women with various diseases of the ovaries, including cancer and ovarian cancer and is difficult to diagnose, some experts advise determine the CA-125 in women over 40 years. However, its lack of sensitivity and specificity indicates that it is not yet a screening test trial.

Other antigens are found in large quantities, as is the case of CA 15-3 that appears on breast cancer, CA 19-5 in pancreatic cancer, the b2-microglobulin in multiple myeloma and lactate dehydrogenase in testicular cancer but none of them can be recommended as a screening test for cancer. However, it is useful to monitor response to cancer treatment and diagnosis.

In the immune system, a large part of the body’s defense against cancer is carried out directly by cells, rather than by antibodies circulating in the blood. For example, the presence of tumor antigens on cancer cells can activate certain white blood cells (lymphocytes and in a much lesser degree, monocytes) which perform an immune surveillance seeking and destroying cancer cells.

The primary role of the immune system to control the development of a cancer cell is exemplified by a startling statistic: Cancer is 100 times more likely to occur in people who take drugs that suppress the immune system (eg, because of transplant of an organ or a rheumatic disease) than in those with normal immune systems. Also, sometimes a transplanted organ is a cancer that was not diagnosed before transplantation. The cancer could have been growing very slowly or may not have grown at all in the donor organ. However, it begins to grow and spread rapidly in the transplant patient, whose immune system is nullified by the drugs supplied to protect the transplant. In general, when drugs that decrease the immune response are suspended, the transplanted organ is rejected and transplanted cancer is also destroyed.