What are the causes of small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer occurs in the bronchi. There are many causes of this disease, especially pollution, but it is also related to one's own physical constitution and other aspects. These factors endanger people's health. What are the causes of its occurrence? Let us now learn about the causes of small cell lung cancer.

1. Chronic lung diseases:

For example, tuberculosis, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, etc. can coexist with small cell lung cancer. The incidence of cancer in these cases is higher than that of normal people. In addition, chronic inflammation of the lung bronchi and pulmonary fibrosis scar lesions can cause squamous metaplasia or hyperplasia during the healing process. On this basis, some cases can develop into small cell lung cancer.

2. Human body internal factors:

For example, family inheritance, decreased immune function, metabolic activity, and endocrine dysfunction can also play a certain promoting role in the onset of small cell lung cancer.

3. Smoking:

According to a small amount of research data from various countries, it is explained that the cause of small cell lung cancer is closely related to smoking. The increase in the incidence of small cell lung cancer is parallel to the increase in cigarette sales. Cigarettes contain a variety of carcinogens such as benzopyrene. Inhaling cigarette smoke or applying tar can induce respiratory and skin cancer in experimental plants. The incidence of small cell lung cancer in smokers is 10 times higher than that of non-smokers, and the incidence is even higher in those who smoke a lot, 20 times higher than that of non-smokers.

4. Air pollution:

The incidence of small cell lung cancer is high in industrially developed countries, higher in cities than in rural areas, and higher in factory and mining areas than in residential areas. The main reason is that in industrial and traffic-developed areas, the combustion of oil, coal, internal combustion engines, and asphalt road dust produces harmful substances such as benzopyrene carcinogenic hydrocarbons that pollute the atmosphere. Survey data show that areas with high concentrations of benzopyrene in the atmosphere also have an increased incidence of small cell lung cancer. Air pollution and smoking can promote each other and play a synergistic role in the incidence of small cell lung cancer.

5. Occupational factors:

It is now recognized that long-term exposure to radioactive substances such as uranium, asbestos, tin, petroleum, mustard gas, nickel, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, iron, arsenic, copper, coal tar, asphalt, radium and their derivatives and chromium can induce small cell lung cancer, mainly squamous cell carcinoma and undifferentiated small cell carcinoma.

6. Kitchen fumes:

The combustion of kitchen fuels causes a sudden increase in the amount of nitrogen oxides, which produces a large amount of harmful substances. In addition, the smoke produced by heating cooking oil aggravates indoor air pollution. Some scholars have analyzed the total chemical composition of condensate from household kitchen range hoods and found that there are 74 compounds in the sample, including hydrocarbons, alcohols and phenols, aldehydes and ketones, esters, carboxylic acids, heterocyclic condensed rings, sterols, etc. Some of these compounds have the effect of causing people to suffer from small cell lung cancer.