Chronic lung diseases
Other risk factors include chronic lung diseases such as tuberculosis, where residual tissue damage can develop into so-called scar carcinomas.
Genetic factors
If one parent falls ill, the personal risk increases 2-3 times.
Forms of lung carcinoma
Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) This includes squamous cell carcinoma, which is mainly located centrally in the lung and is responsible for almost half of all lung cancers. The cancer cells grow less rapidly than, for example, in small cell lung cancer, but therefore also respond less well to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In contrast, surgery is much more likely to be considered due to the stronger differentiation from the surrounding area.
Adenocarcinoma also belongs to the group of non-small cell bronchial carcinomas. About one in ten lung cancers is of this type. Adenocarcinoma occurs primarily in middle-aged, non-smoking women and therefore occupies a certain special position.
Large cell lung cancer, which also belongs to this group, occurs relatively rarely (five to ten percent of all malignant lung tumors). These three tumor types are grouped together under the term non-small-cell lung carcinoma to distinguish them from small-cell lung carcinoma. In contrast to the latter, all three tumor types grow more slowly and remain localized for a longer time, i.e. they form metastases later (squamous cell carcinoma and large cell lung carcinoma earlier, adenocarcinoma very late).
In all types, metastasis occurs via the lymphatic pathways into the neighboring lymph nodes, via the blood vessels in the liver, brain, adrenal glands and skeleton (especially in the spinal column). The intended therapy is always surgery, but this is only possible in 1/3 of patients. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) Small cell lung cancer is also called oat cell cancer because of the similarity of the tumor cells to oat grains.
It accounts for about 1/3 of all bronchial carcinomas and usually occurs in the center of the lung. The small cell bronchial carcinoma is characterized by its extremely fast and invasive growth, which leads to early metastasis. The therapy of choice is chemo- or radiation therapy, under which the tumor size can shrink considerably, but recurrences are frequent.
In many cases, small cell bronchial carcinomas are characterized by hormone production, which can lead to specific symptoms (see paraneoplastic syndrome under symptoms). In addition, the side effects of chemotherapy should not be neglected.
