Early screening, a critical tool in fight against lung cancer
Dr. Philip Rascoe is an associate professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and a cardiothoracic surgeon affiliated with Memorial Hermann.
Dr. Kiran Nair is a pulmonologist affiliated with Memorial Hermann.
Each year in the United States, approximately 218,500 people are diagnosed with lung cancer, and about 142,000 people die from the disease, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity for physicians and specialists to share important information related to this disease, which is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. Below, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Philip Rascoe and pulmonary specialist Dr. Kiran Nair discuss risk factors related to lung cancer, the importance of regular screening and early detection, as well as the latest treatment options available.
Q: What are the signs and symptoms of lung cancer? Dr. Nair:
There are no specific signs or symptoms of lung cancer, which is why screening asymptomatic high-risk patients is so important. By the time someone usually has any symptoms, it typically means that you have advanced disease. With that said, symptoms can include persistent cough or shortness of breath, coughing up blood and localized pain in your chest.
Q: What are some of the risk factors for lung cancer? Dr. Nair:
Significant smoking history is the No. 1 risk factor for lung cancer, with smokers making up 90 percent of lung cancer cases. You should also stay away from secondhand smoke, since nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of getting lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent. Other risk factors include genetic or familial history as well as exposure to certain radiation or chemicals, but those cases are less common.
As doctors who treat lung cancer patients, we cannot stress enough the importance of quitting smoking, and Memorial Hermann offers programs to help anyone who is looking to do so.
There are many methods available and we can help you find what will work best for you, including medications or pharmacologic agents, nicotine replacement therapies, counseling, support groups and more.
Q: What type of lung cancer screening options are available for high-risk patients?
Dr. Rascoe:
Historically, a standard chest X-ray has not proven to be beneficial for screening smokers for potential lung cancers, but in the past decade, Low-Dose Computed
Tomography (LDCT) scans have been shown to be a very good screening tool for patients who are at high risk for lung cancer. These guidelines have recently been revised to include patients who are 50 to 80 years of age with a smoking history that equates to roughly a pack a day for 20 years. Anyone who fits the criteria is eligible for this annual LDCT screening, and we highly recommend it. Importantly, right now only a very low percentage of the population eligible for this screening is accessing it, so we want to get the word out and recommend this to anyone who might qualify, as it can catch lung cancer early, which means better treatment and survival rates.
Q: What type of lung cancer screening options are available for high-risk patients?
Dr. Nair:
The Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Program is a team-based approach where we have specialists from all of our lung cancer management teams collaborating on cases. This involves the pulmonologist, the surgeon, the radiologist, pathologist and oncologist putting all of our expertise together to provide a more comprehensive approach to the management of each patient’s cancer.
Dr. Rascoe: A great example of this is in a tumor board setting where there is expertise offered from each of those specialties. Even more, we work together with Oncology Nurse Navigators to coordinate appointments for patients, so they can see every specialist they need to see on the same day, rather than coming back for a separate appointment with the medical oncologist or the surgeon, for example. It truly is a multidisciplinary effort that focuses on collaboration for the benefit of the patient and allows us to provide high-quality, exemplary care.
Do you fall into a high-risk category for lung cancer? Are you concerned about possible symptoms?
Learn more about Memorial Hermann’s comprehensive services at memorialhermann. org/lungcancer