Early symptoms of lung cancer are often mild or even absent without any discomfort, mostly cough, blood in sputum or haemoptysis.
Patients with lung cancer who develop a large amount of pleural effusion, which compresses the lung tissue and displaces the mediastinum, or in the presence of pericardial effusion, may also experience symptoms of dyspnea and chest tightness. Patients with mid to late stage lung cancer with extensive metastasis of mediastinal lymph nodes causing compression of the trachea, rhomboid or main bronchus may experience chest tightness or even suffocation.