LUNG CANCER

The percentage of women smokers is still on the rise in Spain. If the current smoking patterns among women continue, the number of deaths will continue rising sharply over the next hundred years. There may be more female smokers than male smokers in the adult population in Spain in the near future. This review provides an update of current knowledge as to the impact cigarette smoking has on women’s health, the current patterns of use among them, the special factors which have a baring on their smoking and the difficulties they have when they are considering the possibility of or trying to quit smoking. We also suggest ways in which a minimum degree of counseling, behavior therapy and nicotine substitute can be incorporated as treatment strategies suited to the special needs of women smokers.

http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/resp/v74n1/mujeres.pdf

Lung cancer is the first cause of death in patients with tumor disease. Although smoking is the first risk factor, other factors (environmental, occupational, dietary and genetics) can also contribute in its development. Clinical symptoms frequently go undetected until the disease is advanced. The capacity of annual Low-dose spiral computed tomography (CT) screening to reduce lung cancer mortality in high-risk patients is nowadays a field of great interest. In the last years, lung cancer treatment has improved dramatically, both in early stages of the disease, based on new techniques of radiotherapy in inoperable patients, as in the case of metastatic disease, with the discovery of molecular markers enabling a targeted and individualized therapy.