Lung cancer in women who are more at risk because there are no early symptoms, how to diagnose it early

Eighty-eight percent of women who have undergone lung cancer surgery have never smoked. The main cause?

There are many causative substances in various parts of life, such as fine dust.

There are no early symptoms, early diagnosis is difficult, and the mortality rate is high... Regular check-ups are mandatory

An Mo, a housewife in her 50s, has been suffering from a cough for several weeks. At first, I thought it was just a cold, but I was worried that it might be pneumonia because I thought the cough lasted too long. After thinking about it, I went to the hospital, and the test revealed that I had lung cancer. He has never smoked in his life, but the devastating news of lung cancer made Mr. An's heart break.

The most common lung adenocarcinoma, which has no early symptoms, is difficult to detect and fatal

Lung cancer is broadly divided into small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Lung adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer. According to the National Cancer Information Center, lung adenocarcinoma accounted for 43.7% of the total number of lung cancer cases in 2015. The 'gland' in adenocarcinoma refers to cells that have the function of secreting fluid, and if it is determined that cancer cells originated from this type of cell, it is diagnosed as adenocarcinoma.

Squamous cell lung cancer occurs close to the bronchi and causes symptoms at an early stage, but adenocarcinoma usually occurs at the edge of the lung and has no symptoms in the early stages, making it difficult to detect early. It can easily spread to lymph nodes, liver, brain, bones, and adrenal glands, so it's important to have regular checkups.

In addition to smoking, there are many causes of lung cancer, such as fine dust.

Smoking is often the main cause of lung cancer, but about 88 percent of women who have undergone lung cancer surgery have never smoked in their entire lives. There are many reasons why lung cancer occurs even if you don't smoke, including genetic variations, environmental factors, and secondhand smoke.

Fine dust, which comes regardless of the season, is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. According to an overseas study, for every 10μg/㎥ increase in fine dust concentration, the risk of lung cancer increases by 22%. Women who do a lot of housework are more vulnerable to fine dust from vacuum cleaners and food preparations. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution affect lung health.

If there are no early symptoms, most cases of stage 3 or more are necessary, and early detection is necessary through screening.

Lung cancer has no early symptoms, so when it is detected, it is often already stage 3 or higher. Professor Jang Bok-soon of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Kyung Hee University Hospital in Gangdong said, "The survival rate of lung cancer is about 77% if the tissue does not leave the organ where it first emerged.Early detection through regular check-ups is important, he said. X-rays are the first test used to determine if a lump has formed in the lungs. However, if the lump is less than 5 mm, it may not appear properly, and if the lump is located at the back of the heart or in an area that overlaps the bone, it may not be visible. In order to accurately determine the location of the tumor and the degree of progression, it is necessary to combine biopsy with high-tech imaging equipment such as CT and PET-CT.

Accurate diagnosis can be made with ultrasound endoscopy

Recently, it has been possible to quickly diagnose lung cancer using fine needle aspiration using bronchial ultrasound endoscopy. Endobronchial Ultrasound guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) uses ultrasound attached to the end of the bronchoscope to identify lymph nodes or lesions around the bronchi.Prof. Jang Bok-soon said, "Bronchial ultrasound endoscopy has excellent access to the mediastinal lymph nodes of lung cancer using needles for biopsy, so it is possible to accurately identify the stage and determine the appropriate direction of treatment ."

Compared to conventional inspections, it is simple and can be checked on the same day, so it is popular

Conventional mediastinal examination (a method of making a 2~3cm skin incision in the lower part of the neck and inserting a mediastinal endoscope into it to examine the lymph node tissue around the trachea and main bronchi) was performed under general anesthesia, which was cumbersome and caused pain and scarring. Since bronchial ultrasound endoscopy is performed as a sleep test, it has the advantage that it can be easily performed from local anesthesia to biopsy.