Lung cancer: Study finds 11 distinct signs significantly associated with lung cancer

A research study on 698 primary lung cancer cases in adults diagnosed between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2019 has found 11 signs and symptoms associated with a significantly higher chance of being a lung cancer case.

The study has been published in medrxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.

The symptoms that the study has found range from rare symptoms like hemoptysis to common ones like persistent cough and unexplained weight loss. The participants of the study, both cases and control, were patients who received ambulatory care at a large tertiary care academic health center. The study was funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute, among others.

Read: THIS common sign can indicate that lung cancer is growing inside you

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In India it accounts for 5.9% of all the cancers diagnosed and 8.1% of all cancer related deaths.

Indian researchers say the burden of this disease is expected to rise in the future as the spectrum of the disease has evolved over few decades. "The spectrum of disease has evolved over the decades from being one predominantly affecting elderly tobacco smoking men (with squamous or small cell carcinoma) to one wherein an increasing number of younger age group individuals, light or nonsmokers, and female individuals are being affected (with predominance of adenocarcinoma)," a 2021 research study says.

The study found the following 11 symptoms which are significantly associated with lung cancer:

finger clubbing

hemoptysis

cough

chest crackles or wheezing

lympadenopathy

bone pain

weight loss

fatigue

back pain

shortness of breath

chest pain

Of all these symptoms hemoptysis, cough, chest crackle or wheezing, bone pain, back pain, weight loss and fatigue were significantly associated with lung cancer 6 months prior to the diagnosis, the study concluded.

" Of these, all except weight loss were also significantly associated with cases 12 months prior to diagnosis. Other symptoms and signs became significantly associated with being a case closer to the date of diagnosis: shortness of breath and chest pain (3 months prior to diagnosis), lymphadenopathy and finger clubbing (1 month prior)," the study finds.

The study's findings hold relevance in reference to the late diagnosis of lung cancer. Usually by the time a lung cancer is detected in an individual it is in an advanced stage.

Cancer symptoms often go unnoticed in the early stage of the disease. However, the growth and multiplication of cancerous cells in the body gives minor signals to the body which should be observed carefully. These symptoms, though appear to be minor and common in nature, persist in the body for a longer duration and gradually increase in intensity as the disease progresses.

As per several health reports, lung cancers are diagnosed in the stage 3 or 4 of the disease.

So identifying the pattern of the signs and symptoms associated with this disease will improve the screening process and will help doctors to catch the disease in its treatable stage.