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Lung cancer
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Lung cancer, called bronchogenic carcinoma in medical terms, covers the tumors that start in two places: the lung parenchyma, the tissue where air is actually exchanged, and the bronchi, the tubes through which that air comes in and goes out.
The road there is long. It is thought that when the lung epithelium, the layer of cells lining those tubes, is hit again and again by carcinogens such as cigarette smoke, it begins to show dysplasia: its cells change in shape and organization, though this is not yet cancer. The damage does not happen all at once: the epithelium grows more disordered with each exposure. If the exposure continues, mutations appear, changes in the DNA that throw off the cell cycle, that is, the clock that decides when a cell divides.
Smoking is the most common cause. The World Health Organization sorts these tumors into subtypes, based on how the cells look and which molecular alterations they carry.
In brief
Lung cancer, or bronchogenic carcinoma, covers the tumors that arise in the lung parenchyma or within the bronchi.
Repeated exposure to carcinogens such as cigarette smoke is thought to cause dysplasia of the lung epithelium; if it continues, mutations appear that disrupt the cell cycle.
The damage does not happen all at once: the epithelium grows more disordered with each exposure.
Smoking is its most common cause, and the World Health Organization classifies these tumors by cellular and molecular subtype.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingLung Cancer, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated