The trouble with early screening of lung cancer is that there are no targeted biochemical indicators for lung cancer, while chest X-ray is not particularly effective in detecting early lung cancer. This means that early screening needs to be based more on the judgment of clinical symptoms by doctors at all levels, and not only specialists, but also community doctors and family doctors in charge of general practice should pay attention to it.
It is important to note that early symptoms are equally important for smokers and non-smokers. Currently, 50% of lung cancer patients are ex-smokers and 15% are smokers. And lung cancer is increasing in younger patients, with 1.2%-6.2% of lung cancer patients in the United States being younger than 40 years of age in 2014.
What are the early clinical symptoms of lung cancer?
1. Long-term cough
Many patients have chronic cough symptoms, but this symptom is often easily ignored by both doctors and patients or categorized as other causes. Especially in the poor air quality in China, cough symptoms are not too common and can easily be missed.
If a patient’s cough persists for more than two or three weeks, it must be taken seriously.
In addition to the need for differential diagnosis with respiratory allergies and respiratory infections, patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), allergies, or gastroesophageal reflux who have cough symptoms due to their primary disease need to be carefully differentiated when diagnosing.
Blood clotting is also a common symptom of lung cancer, but it is not easily detected by patients themselves and needs to be brought to the attention of doctors.
2.Shortness of breath when moving
As another early symptom of lung cancer, this symptom is easily considered to be caused by old age, poor physical condition or obesity.
If patients feel shortness of breath during daily activities without cardiovascular diseases, they need to pay attention to the screening of lung cancer.
3. Pain in shoulder, back, chest and arm
Lung tumors may compress nerves and cause pain in the patient’s shoulder, chest, back or arm – a symptom that may even precede coughing and shortness of breath. If painful symptoms occur in these areas without primary injury, especially painful symptoms that worsen with coughing and breathing, close attention is needed. Up to 50% of lung cancer patients have chest or shoulder pain conditions at the time of diagnosis.
4.Recurrent infections (bronchitis and pneumonia)
It is not uncommon for patients with recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis to be diagnosed with lung cancer in clinical practice. If the tumor is close to the airway, it can cause obstruction making the patient more prone to lung infections.
Long-term smoking or COPD can also cause lung infections and bronchitis, but these are also high risk factors for lung cancer.
5. Abnormal symptoms or decreased physical fitness
Sometimes even seemingly unrelated symptoms are associated with lung cancer, especially in patients who smoke. For example, 1.7% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer experience knee pain in the early stages. In addition a combination of symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss and even the onset of depression can be indicative of lung cancer.
Statistics show that 25% of lung cancer patients are diagnosed with no specific symptoms at the time of lung cancer diagnosis, and many are detected by CT or x-ray for other reasons.
Imaging
Unfortunately, imaging tests are not very effective in the early detection of lung cancer. However, recent studies have shown that CT screening can reduce mortality by 20% for certain patients, limited to those aged 55-74 years who smoke more than 30 packs per year. As well, for patients with a history of radon exposure and genetic susceptibility factors, CT scan also has screening significance.
The number of lung cancer patients in China is currently in a growth phase for various reasons. Early screening is significant for patients’ survival rate, and attention to early clinical symptoms can save patients’ lives.