Lung Cancer

Fast Facts | Key Research | More Resources

Lung Cancer: Fast Facts

• Lung cancer ranks as the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States and one of the most common cancers in the world. The majority of lung cancers are related to smoking.
• There are two major types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer, which has three subtypes, is the most common form. Small-cell lung cancer, sometimes called oat-cell cancer, is less common and tends to spread quickly to other body organs early in the disease. Each type of lung cancer is treated differently.

Read more about lung-cancer prevention, symptoms and treatment options at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. »

Lung Cancer: Some of our Key Research

Promoting early detection of lung cancer

• Dr. Samir Hanash and colleagues are working on developing non-invasive blood-based tests to detect lung cancer before the onset of symptoms. His group has successfully validated a panel of biomarkers that could potentially be used for early detection of lung cancer. The test, which relies on immune-system signals, much like an HIV test, was shown to detect the presence of lung cancer up to a year prior to diagnosis. Learn more about research on lung-cancer tests. »

• Nearly 90 percent of people who develop lung cancer are smokers, yet only about 10 percent of lifetime smokers will develop the disease. A study led by Dr. Alyson Littman and colleagues found that patients who had been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis or emphysema prior to their cancer diagnosis were about 30 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than those without such a diagnosis. The risk associated with a form of the disease known as squamous-cell carcinoma was even higher, at about 50 percent. These findings — and other research of this kind — are important because they may help doctors identify smokers who are most likely to get lung cancer. Learn more about research on prior lung diseases and lung cancer incidence. »

Leading the way on smoking-prevention research
Recognizing that avoiding tobacco use is the best way to prevent lung cancer, our researchers led the largest and longest school-based intervention trial ever conducted in smoking-prevention research. Through the landmark Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project – a 15-year, National Cancer Institute-funded study that involved 8,400 students and 600 teachers throughout 40 school districts in Washington – our researchers reported many important findings, including:

• Parents who quit smoking before their child reaches third grade will significantly reduce the child's odds of becoming a smoker by the time he or she is a senior in high school.
• If one parent quits by the time the child is 8 or 9, the child's odds of becoming a daily or monthly smoker drop 25 percent. If both parents quit, the odds drop 40 percent.
• Parents who quit smoking before their children reach third grade also nearly double the chances that their children would quit smoking in young adulthood if they were to start.

Learn more about the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project. »

Linking exercise and lung-cancer risk
Hutchinson Center research has found that current and former heavy smokers may reduce their risk of getting lung cancer and getting any kind of cancer by increasing the amount that they exercise. The results varied by age group and gender. Read more about the exercise study. »

Revolutionizing surgery for some lung cancers
Dr. Michael Mulligan and his colleagues at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the Hutchinson Center’s patient-treatment partner, have become local pioneers and national leaders in minimally invasive surgery techniques that get lung-cancer patients back on their feet more quickly. By inserting a tiny camera through a millimeters-long incision, the surgeon can see inside a patient's chest and operate without the same impact to surrounding tissue that a traditional, open-chest procedure requires. The technique, known as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is not intended for late-stage lung cancer patients who have undergone significant chemotherapy or radiation, but it is well suited to removing early stage lung cancer. Learn more about minimally invasive surgery techniques for lung-cancer patients. »

Tracing lung-cancer causes
Hutchinson Center researchers in Dr. Dusty Miller’s lab have discovered key information about why a virus known as jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) causes a contagious lung cancer in sheep and goats. The work is significant because humans can develop a type of lung cancer, unrelated to smoking, that is similar to the sheep disease. The findings may lead to new insights into the cause of the disease in men and women — and ultimately, to improved treatments. Learn more about research on viruses and lung cancer. »

Lung Cancer: More Resources

• Every advance in cancer treatment in recent years has come out of clinical trials that test innovative medical approaches on patients. Find out more about clinical trials on lung cancer. »

• The Hutchinson Center also conducts ongoing cancer-prevention studies that depend on participation of healthy volunteers. Learn more about getting involved in research studies. » 

• In need of medical attention for lung cancer? Visit the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to get help. »

• The Hutchinson Center is on a mission to eliminate cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death, and you can help. Make a gift today. »