Do you know? When it comes to understanding the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, people have also experienced many twists and turns.
Lung cancer was a rare disease at the beginning of the 20th century, and with the rise of tobacco, it was found that the incidence of lung cancer rose from 1% of the incidence of malignant tumors in 1900 to 20%. As a result, some people began to suggest that smoking is one of the causes of lung cancer, but this view was opposed by many old smokers.
One of the thoracic surgeons, Graham, in order to overturn the idea that smoking causes lung cancer, asked his students to conduct an experiment that smeared 86 mice and found that 44% of the mice had lung cancer, and only 10% survived for 20 months. After the results of the experiment were announced, the old smoker was surprised, and he immediately quit smoking. Unfortunately, it was too late, and 7 years later, he died of lung cancer.
It was not until 1964 that the relationship between smoking and lung cancer was officially defined in the United States for the first time, and the medical community's research on smoking and lung cancer was gradually deepened.
What is the difference between lung cancer in smokers and non-smokers?
In 2004, a well-known British Cancer Journal article showed that the cumulative risk of lung cancer in people who have been smoking until the age of 75 is 14% to 16%, and the risk of persistent heavy smokers is about 20 to 25%.
Authoritative data show that among lung cancer patients who smoke men in China, about 75.04% are caused by smoking. Although this proportion of female lung cancer patients dropped to 18.35%, another 25.6% was related to second-hand smoke inhalation.
Although the probability of smoking lung cancer is higher, it is clear that smoking does not necessarily lead to lung cancer, and non-smoking also has a certain chance of getting lung cancer, and cancer is the result of the combined action of multiple factors. So is it possible not to quit smoking? In fact, it is not, the same is lung cancer, the lung cancer suffered by smokers and the lung cancer suffered by non-smokers are also different.
1. The type of genetic mutation is different
Among lung cancer patients, EGFR, ALK, ROS1 and other gene mutations are currently the hot spots of precision treatment research, and a variety of targeted drugs have been used in a large area of clinical practice and have achieved good efficacy.
Some studies have found that the mutation rate of these genes in the lung cancer of smokers is very low, and there are many mutations that lack specific drugs such as BRAF and KRAS, and there will be some rare mutations. This means that it is more difficult for smokers to find suitable targeted drugs for lung cancer.
2. The degree of genetic mutation is different
The more complex and the degree of mutation, the less sensitive it is to chemoradiation. Studies have found that carcinogens such as nicotine and tar in tobacco can cause DNA damage to lung tissue, resulting in an increase in the degree of gene mutation in lung cancer cells. In the absence of targeted drugs, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have become the helpless choice for many smokers for lung cancer.
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy is a "weapon of mass destruction", characterized by "six relatives do not recognize", once used, it will "hurt the enemy a thousand, self-damage eight hundred". Smokers have a higher degree of genetic mutation in lung cancer, which is like putting body armor on cancer cells, and to kill them requires higher doses of chemoradiation, which means that serious toxic side effects are likely to occur.
3. The difficulty of treatment is different
Long-term smokers are likely to have chronic lung diseases, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy are very prone to serious complications such as lung infections and lung interstitial lesions, which means that the treatment of lung cancer in smokers is more difficult.
In terms of immunotherapy, lung cancer suffered from smokers, although more mutated, did not show more benefit in immunotherapy. Moreover, due to the presence of chronic lung inflammation in smokers, local infiltration of immune cells is more common and is more likely to lead to severe immune-related pneumonia when using immunotherapy.
4. The prognosis is different
In a study of survival in male and female lung cancer patients, it was shown that smoking history was a factor influencing the survival of lung cancer patients, and that female patients were lower than male patients, so the survival period was significantly longer.
The lack of effective treatments for lung cancer in smokers means that once the disease progresses, they may face the dilemma of no drugs available. The absence of medication is available, which naturally means a worse prognosis.
In fact, smoking can not only lead to lung cancer, but also cause cardiovascular disease, lung disease, etc., which seriously affects health. We should be fully aware of the dangers of smoking and quit smoking as soon as possible for ourselves and our families.
A few tips for quitting smoking
1. Find reasons to quit smoking:
To gain motivation, you need a strong, personal reason to quit smoking. Probably to protect your family from secondhand smoke. Or reduce the chance of lung cancer, heart disease, or other diseases. Or make yourself look younger. Choose a reason strong enough to counteract the urge to light a cigarette.
2. Nicotine replacement therapy:
When you quit smoking, nicotine withdrawal symptoms can give you headaches, affect your mood, or drain your energy. Studies have shown that nicotine gum, nicotine lozenges, and nicotine patches can improve your chances of success in quitting smoking.
3. Avoid alcohol and other triggers:
When people are drinking, drinking coffee, after meals, etc., it is difficult to stick to the goal of smoking bans. Therefore, when you quit smoking for the first time, try to limit the intake of alcohol and coffee. If you usually smoke after a meal, find something else instead, like brushing your teeth, taking a walk, texting a friend, or chewing gum.
4. Get active:
When you want to smoke, wearing skates or jogging shoes, walking your dog or pulling grass in the garden can suppress nicotine desire and alleviate some withdrawal symptoms.
5. There are also snacks to quit smoking, drinking water to quit smoking, meditation smoking method and so on
In fact, smoking cessation on the one hand to fully understand its harm, on the one hand to have a scientific method, the most important thing is to rely on strong willpower! It is hoped that all non-smokers will remain non-smokers, and all smokers will be converted to non-smokers. Let's work together to keep lung cancer away from humans.
Recognizing the dangers of cigarettes, have you made up your mind to quit smoking? Or have you successfully quit? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area