What is the difference between pneumonia and lung cancer? There is an essential difference

There are many differences between pneumonia and lung cancer, such as the definition of the disease, different clinical symptoms, different imaging manifestations, and different treatment methods. Relatively speaking, lung cancer is a more serious disease. Even with effective treatment, the chance of survival within 5 years may not exceed 20%.

Pneumonia is more likely to occur in life. Some people may develop lung cancer due to long-term smoking. Many people think that lung cancer is actually caused by pneumonia, and that the two are the same disease. In fact, this idea is completely wrong. Pneumonia and lung cancer have different causes and are very different. So, what is the difference between pneumonia and lung cancer?
1. Differences in disease definitions <br/>Pneumonia is a relatively common inflammatory disease, which may be caused by infection and mainly occurs in lung tissue. Lung cancer is a common tumor disease, which is mainly caused by malignant tumors of lung tissue or bronchial mucosa.
2. Differences in clinical symptoms <br/>Pneumonia mainly presents with cough, sputum, or obvious high fever. However, in the case of lung cancer, the symptoms are often more subtle, mainly with irritating cough and some low-grade fever. In addition to these, chest pain or blood in sputum often occurs.
3. Different imaging manifestations <br/>After taking a CT scan, people with pneumonia will first have patchy shadows, and sometimes there will be high-density shadows in sheets. After taking a CT scan after suffering from lung cancer, obvious lumps will be found in the lungs, and there may also be atelectasis, which is a relatively abnormal manifestation.
4. Differences in treatment methods <br/>When treating pneumonia, most people choose anti-infection treatment. When treating lung cancer, people either choose anti-tumor treatment or surgical treatment. After comprehensive treatment, there will be better results and problems are not likely to occur. However, the effects of these two diseases after treatment are not the same. For example, pneumonia is not likely to have sequelae after treatment, but even if lung cancer is effectively treated, the 5-year survival rate is estimated to be no more than 20%, so this is also relatively serious.