What are the initial symptoms of lung cancer

What are the first symptoms of lung cancer?

The main reason for the high mortality rate of lung cancer is the lack of effective early detection methods. About 80% of patients are already in the middle or late stages when they are first diagnosed.

1. Local symptoms: Local symptoms refer to the stimulation, obstruction, infiltration and compression of tissues caused by the tumor itself during its local growth process.

2. Chest pain. The degree of chest pain in patients varies to a certain extent, and this difference depends not only on the severity of the disease, but also on the specific personal qualities of the patient.

3. Coughing up blood. This symptom is mainly caused by tumor cells invading the bronchial mucosa, but it may be due to the different physical fitness of the patients, resulting in different degrees of illness and different manifestations of blood in sputum. As the disease worsens, once the tumor cells infiltrate the blood vessels, it will cause severe coughing up blood and even endanger the patient's life.

4. Clubbing: A common early symptom of lung cancer may also be clubbing, which means that the first part of the toe becomes enlarged, the nails become protruding and curved, and are often accompanied by pain.

5. Cough. Cough is the most common symptom, accounting for 35% to 75% of patients with cough as the first symptom. Cough caused by lung cancer may be related to chest complications such as changes in bronchial mucus secretion, obstructive pneumonia, pleural invasion, and atelectasis. Especially the elderly should be highly alert to the possibility of lung cancer.

6. Blood in sputum or hemoptysis. Blood in sputum or hemoptysis is also a common symptom of lung cancer, accounting for about 30% of the first symptoms. Because tumor tissue has a rich blood supply and is fragile, blood vessels rupture and cause bleeding during severe coughing. Coughing up blood may also be caused by local tumor necrosis or vasculitis. The characteristics of lung cancer coughing up blood are intermittent or continuous, repeated small amounts of blood in sputum, or small amounts of hemoptysis. Occasionally, due to the rupture of large blood vessels, the formation of large holes, or the rupture of tumors into the bronchi and pulmonary blood vessels, uncontrollable hemoptysis occurs.

7. Chest tightness and shortness of breath. About 10% of patients experience this as the first symptom, which is more common in central lung cancer, especially in patients with poor lung function.