What is the cause of small cell lung cancer

Nowadays, more and more people are suffering from lung diseases, so lung cancer is getting closer and closer to us. There are really many unfortunate incidents due to lung cancer every year, and small cell lung cancer also has a 20% chance of causing serious lung cancer. Don't underestimate small cell lung cancer, it is really terrible to slowly cause illness and death. So what is the cause of small cell lung cancer? Let me introduce it below.

Small cell lung cancer causes:

1. Smoking

The relative risk of death from lung cancer for smokers is 12.7, and those who smoke more than 30 cigarettes a day have a relative risk 22.3 times higher than non-smokers. In 1985, 82% of lung cancer deaths in the United States, or 31,600 deaths, were attributed to smoking. Many epidemiological studies have been conducted at home and abroad on the relationship between smokers and different types of lung cancer. Most of the research results show that smoking is closely related to squamous cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. At the same time, studies have shown that the risk of death from lung cancer can be reduced to the level of non-smokers after quitting smoking for 10-15 years.

2. Environmental tobacco smoke

It is composed of sidestream smoke released from burning tobacco and smoke exhaled by smokers, which account for 80% and 20% respectively. The smoke inhaled by smokers is called mainstream smoke. ETS contains various toxic substances, including mutagens and carcinogens, such as some chemicals (nitrous acid, 4-aminobiphenyl, benzopyrene), which are higher in ETS than in mainstream smoke released by burning tobacco. Studies have shown that the level of 4-aminobiphenyl-hemoglobin compounds in passive smokers is approximately equivalent to 14% of active smokers. 2%-3% of lung cancer diagnosed in smokers and non-smokers each year is caused by ETS.

3. Air pollution

It refers to the pollution formed after the pollutants are fully diluted by the air after being discharged. With the development of industry, especially the emission of waste gas and gas from cities and factories, the large-scale production and use of various carcinogenic industrial raw materials and products, the carcinogens in the air are increasing; various means of transportation, especially the exhaust gas discharged by cars, and the large-scale use of materials such as asphalt in paving and construction, cause air pollution.

Although lung cancer is mainly attributed to smoking in most countries, the risk for men who are already smokers and are exposed to urban air pollution is as high as 10 cases of lung cancer per 100,000 people per year. The results are therefore caused by the interaction of tobacco with chemical compounds in the atmosphere and vary by geographic region and over time.

4. Chronic lung diseases

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