What is lung cancer and why do we need more research?

Lung cancer affects a huge number of people every year. It caused 1.8 million deaths worldwide in 2020; the single largest number of deaths for any cancer. It was also the second most common cancer that year, with over 2.2 million new cases diagnosed. What is lung cancer? How is it caused? And how does your support drive even more new and much needed lung cancer research?

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer starts when cells in the lungs or surrounding area become damaged, which can affect the cell DNA. Over time these cells divide and grow uncontrollably, causing tumours to develop in:

One or both lungs
The lower windpipe (trachea)
The two airways which connect the trachea to the left and right lungs (bronchi)

There are two main types of primary lung cancer, which are cancers that begin in the lung:

Small cell lung cancer, which affect a round type of call called an oat cell, and are strongly linked to smoking. Around 2/10 lung cancers are small cell lung cancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer, which are more common, making up around 8/10 of cases. There are three main types, based on the cell affected, that are all treated differently - adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.

What are the known causes of lung cancer?

Family genetics
Age
Smoking
Passive smoking - breathing in other people’s second-hand smoke
Exposure to workplace chemicals such as asbestos or silica
Breathing in air pollution, like diesel fumes
Increased exposure to radon gas, a natural gas that is present at greater levels in some areas
Ionizing radiation, perhaps delivered as part of treatment for another cancer

How can you reduce your risk of lung cancer?

Some risk factors, like family history, cannot be controlled, and some lung cancers cannot be prevented. But there may still be things that you could do.

Protecting yourself from tobacco smoke can be an important way to reduce your risk of lung cancer. As awareness and support for prevention improves, there’s now more help than ever available if you want to give up smoking or reduce your risks from passive smoking. Your doctor can help put you in touch with local support.

What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

Lung cancer symptoms are often very similar to other common health conditions and may go unnoticed, especially early on. If there is anything you are unsure of, or if something just feels ‘off’, it is always a good idea to talk to your doctor. Common lung cancer symptoms can include:

A new cough that does not go away, or a change to a cough that you already have
Breathlessness, having trouble catching your breath doing things you used to be able to do
Pain in the chest, back, or shoulders

How is lung cancer treated?

Small cell lung cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, separately or at the same time. Surgery might also be possible, if the cancer is very early and contained. Surgery usually involves a lobectomy (removal of part of the lung).
Non-small cell lung cancer is commonly treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy together, depending on the stage and type of cancer that you have.
If the cancer has spread outside of the lung targeted therapies (which act on specific molecules involved in cancer growth) and immunotherapies (which work with our immune system to treat cancer) may also be used.

How are lung cancer rates changing?

Over the last two decades, rates of lung cancer have slightly decreased for some groups of people. But for others, cases continue to rise. Lung adenocarcinoma appears to be on the increase in young women in particular, and researchers and doctors are not yet sure why.

The increase does not appear to be completely linked to smoking and could be a combination of factors. Researchers are working hard to find out exactly what is driving these changes.

And research has helped to bring huge improvements in our understanding of smoking, and how it can cause lung cancer, already saving countless lives.

But we still need more. Your support can help us keep improving our understanding of lung cancer and find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat it - ultimately stopping lives from being cut short.

Thanks to our Curestarters we have already funded an amazing £6 million worth of cutting-edge lung cancer research around the world.

Researchers in the UK are developing targeted treatments for mesothelioma, and testing a new drug to see if it can boost the effects of immunotherapy against lung cancer.

While researchers in Italy are using nanomedicine technology to develop a new type of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

In France, researchers are investigating how lung cancers become more aggressive, with the aim of improving diagnosis and uncovering new treatment targets.

And in 2013, we helped Dr Laura Soucek in Spain develop a possible new treatment called Omomyc which targets the MYC gene in cancer. Less than 10 years later, Omomyc entered early clinical trials for patients with lung cancer and other types of advanced cancer.