RT Book, Section
A1 Horn, Leora
A1 Lovly, Christine M.
A1 Johnson, David H.
A2 Longo, Dan L.
SR Print(0)
ID 1135229331
T1 Neoplasms of the Lung
T2 Harrison's Hematology and Oncology, 3e
YR 2016
FD 2016
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259835834
LK hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135229331
RD 2024/04/19
AB Lung  cancer,  which  was  rare  prior  to  1900  with  fewer  than  400  cases  described  in  the  medical  literature,  is  considered  a  disease  of  modern  man.  By  the  mid-twentieth  century,  lung  cancer  had  become  epidemic  and  firmly  established  as  the  leading  cause  of  cancer-related  death  in  North  America  and  Europe,  killing  over  three  times  as  many  men  as  prostate  cancer  and  nearly  twice  as  many  women  as  breast  cancer.  This  fact  is  particularly  troubling  because  lung  cancer  is  one  of  the  most  preventable  of  all  of  the  major  malignancies.  Tobacco  consumption  is  the  primary  cause  of  lung  cancer,  a  reality  firmly  established  in  the  mid-twentieth  century  and  codified  with  the  release  of  the  U.S.  Surgeon  General’s  1964  report  on  the  health  effects  of  tobacco  smoking.  Following  the  report,  cigarette  use  started  to  decline  in  North  America  and  parts  of  Europe,  and  with  it,  so  did  the  incidence  of  lung  cancer.  To  date,  the  decline  in  lung  cancer  is  seen  most  clearly  in  men;  only  recently  has  the  decline  become  apparent  among  women  in  the  United  States.  Unfortunately,  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  especially  in  countries  with  developing  economies,  cigarette  use  continues  to  increase,  and  along  with  it,  the  incidence  of  lung  cancers  is  also  rising.  Although  tobacco  smoking  remains  the  primary  cause  of  lung  cancer  worldwide,  approximately  60%  of  new  lung  cancers  in  the  United  States  occur  in  former  smokers  (smoked  ≥100  cigarettes  per  lifetime,  quit  ≥1  year),  many  of  whom  quit  decades  ago,  or  never  smokers  (smoked  <100  cigarettes  per  lifetime).  Moreover,  one  in  five  women  and  one  in  12  men  diagnosed  with  lung  cancer  have  never  smoked.  Given  the  magnitude  of  the  problem,  it  is  incumbent  that  every  internist  has  a  general  knowledge  of  lung  cancer  and  its  management.