Introduction
- Benign or malignant
- Primary or metastatic
- ♂ > ♀ (except adenocarcinoma)
- Sampling
- Bronchial brush cytology
- Bronchial washing fluid analysis
- Endoscopic transbronchial biopsy
- Transbronchial biopsy
- Much riskier (fatal bleeding, pneumothorax)
- Paraneoplastic syndromes are common in lung cancer
Benign tumors
Hamartochondroma
- Most common benign lung tumor
- Hamartoma refers to a developmental anomaly, which is not the case in this lesion, as it is a true neoplasm
- Small, superficial, well-circumscribed tumor consisting of fat, cartilage, fibrous tissue, and blood vessels
- Appear as "coin-lesions" on chest x-rays
Other examples for benign tumors:
- Squamous epithelial papilloma
- Bronchial gland adenomas
Malignant tumors3
- Most common malignant tumors of the lung are metastatic tumors
- Most common primary tumors of the lung are carcinomas (95%), arising from the bronchoalveolar epithelium
- The rest are carcinoids, mesenchymal malignancies, lymphomas, and benign tumors
Risk factors
- Smoking and air pollution
- Exposure to irradiation, asbestos,