1.What is lung cancer? Lung is a complex organ. When it comes to lung, most people only associate it with breathing. Little do they know that the lungs also have the following important functions: confining or excluding various disease-causing microorganisms; maintaining water balance; and producing various hormones. The lining of the respiratory tract looks very similar to the buccal mucosa, however, the cellular structure of the lung tissue is much more complex. The lungs are composed of three distinct structures from top to bottom: (1) Trachea and large bronchial region This is the first and largest part of the respiratory tract and is covered by squamous epithelial cells. This epithelium is flattened and forms a protective layer to protect against various impurities inhaled into the airway; (2) the secretory zone, whose surface is covered by various ciliated columnar epithelium capable of secreting mucus. These cells are capable of sweeping mucus containing impurities (from the air) upwards continuously by the peristaltic movement of the cilia on their surface, and eventually to the mouth for expulsion; (3) the alveolar zone This zone is composed of numerous small air sacs, which are called alveoli. It is here that the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also, by producing water vapor, this zone controls the water balance of the body. Lung cancer has become the number one cancer in China, and the incidence and mortality rate are growing most rapidly. 2004 First China Lung Cancer North-South Summit Forum, the information provided by the National Cancer Prevention and Treatment Research Office of the Ministry of Health shows that the number of lung cancer cases in China is expected to increase by 120,000 between 2000 and 2005, among which, the number of male lung cancer patients will increase from 260,000 in 2000 to 330,000 in 2005. During the same period, the number of female lung cancer patients will increase from 120,000 to 170,000. Experts point out that the high incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer is due to factors such as population aging, increased urbanization of rural areas and industrialization of towns, as well as pollution and destruction of the human living environment and people’s poor lifestyle, especially the yearly increase in the number of people who smoke in China. In many provinces, cities and regions, the incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer has ranked first among malignant tumors; moreover, more than 80% of lung cancer patients are already in advanced stage when they come to the hospital, losing the best time for surgical operations and multidisciplinary radical treatment. Professor Sun Yan, chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that tobacco has been proven to be the main factor leading to the development of lung cancer. There are 320 million smokers in China, and the trend of female and minor smokers is increasing year by year, which leads to the increase of lung cancer incidence among women and young and middle-aged people. In recent years, with the acceleration of reform and opening up, modernization of science and technology, and modernization of medicine, the gap between China and developed countries in clinical diagnosis of lung cancer, surgical skills, introduction and development of new generation of anti-cancer drugs and radiotherapy facilities has been further narrowed. For example, from the previous treatment method of fighting poison with poison to the present non-toxic treatment method is a great improvement. 2. Types of lung cancer: (1) small cell lung cancer: arising from the endocrine cells of the lung; (2) non-small cell lung cancer: including ① squamous carcinoma, arising from the epithelial cells of the large airways; ② adenocarcinoma (including large cell carcinoma), arising from the secretory area of the lung; ③ bronchoalveolar carcinoma, arising from the epithelium of small air sacs or alveoli. Each of these types of carcinoma maintains the cellular characteristics of the lung area in which it arises, and therefore the behavioral characteristics of different types of carcinoma are different. For simplicity, we have divided the four types of lung cancer into two major categories: (1) small cell lung cancer, which arises from the endocrine cells of the lung; and (2) non-small cell lung cancer, which is all other types. 3.How does lung cancer occur? Western medicine believes that when malignant changes occur in the respiratory epithelium (whether due to smoking or other factors), the body is unable to stop the malignant growth of the cells. This then leads to an uncontrollable growth process – metastasis. The fact that this malignant metastasis occurs indicates that a series of molecular changes have occurred in individual lung cells. The bad news is that the process of mutation does not stop after the malignant growth eventually leads to cancer. Among the many mutations that will occur after a cell has undergone malignant transformation, two mutations are extremely dangerous. First mutation: This is the ability of lung cancer cells to leave their original normal location and metastasize to other parts of the body. If lung cancer cells spread to other parts of the body (e.g. liver, bone, brain), it can be considered that lung cancer has metastasized to the corresponding parts of the body, and such lung cancer patients cannot be classified as liver cancer, bone cancer, brain cancer, etc. Further, if such lung cancer has developed lymph node, bone, or liver metastases, he or she needs to understand this process of lung cancer rather than lymph node cancer, bone cancer, or liver cancer. This is often the area where patients and their families are more likely to get it wrong. Second mutation: The second mutation is the resistance of lung cancer cells to treatment. Although this phenomenon is multifactorial, it usually occurs because the cancer cells are more capable of repairing treatment-induced damage than normal cells, so that the effective dose is too toxic for normal cells. This phenomenon is called cancer drug resistance or resistance to treatment. According to Chinese medicine, lung cancer belongs to the category of “lung accumulation”, “resting ben”, “lung gangrene” and other diseases. Since the “Difficult Classic” of 2,000 years ago, it is said that “the accumulation of lung is called Xiben”, and the discussion of lung cancer has become more and more profound, for example, “Eastern Medical Treasure Book? Carbuncles and gangrene chapter said: “carbuncles and gangrene in the internal organs, when examining the internal organs, such as in the House of vague and pain, lung gangrene.” The word “gangrene” was used to determine the malignant nature of lung cancer. Further, the “Source of Miscellaneous Diseases Rhinoceros Candle? The pathological mechanism of the formation of similar lung cancer is eloquently discussed in “The accumulation of evil in the chest obstructs the airway, and the air does not flow. For phlegm, for food, for blood. All have to fight with the positive, the evil has won, and the positive can not be controlled, so it is formed into a lump.” Roughly speaking, the process of the formation of this disease can be divided into two stages: first, due to the lack of positive qi, yin and yang imbalance, lung qi weakness, the six lewdnesses take advantage of the deficiency and enter, resulting in the lung loss of appropriate descending, spleen loss of healthy transportation. “The lung is the reservoir of phlegm, and the spleen is the source of phlegm production.” At this stage, clinical evidence of mixed deficiency and reality such as wheezing, coughing, coughing phlegm, less nasal, loose stool, less breath and lazy speech can be seen. 4.Lung cancer clinical manifestations The primary task of lung cancer specialists is to make diagnosis before lung cancer symptoms arise, and if the above purpose cannot be achieved, it is also crucial to confirm the diagnosis before distant metastasis of lung cancer occurs.