lung cancer Flashcards
List symptoms that would make you suspicious of lung cancer
cough (doesn’t go away or a long-standing cough that has gotten worse), dyspnoea, recurrent infections, haemoptysis, unexplained weight loss, chest and/or shoulder pains, hoarse voice
Clinical signs of lung cancer
finger clubbing, signs of lobar collapse or pleural effusion, if has metastasised: hepatomegaly, cervical lymphadenopathy, cachexia, horner’s syndrome, cushinoid.
list the man risk factors for developing lung cancer
smoking, passive smoking, occupational asbestosis, silica and nickel exposure, PF
what CXR findings would you expect in lung cancer
mass lesion, lobar of lung collapse, mediastinal widening or hilar lymph nodes, pleural effusion, slowly resolving consolidation, could also be normal.
what investigations apart from a CXR would you perform in someone who you suspected of having lung cancer
bloods: FBC, U/E, CRP, Serum Ca, LFT
CT chest and upper abdomen (look for metastasis)
Bronchoscopy (detect more central lesions)
What common invetigations would be performed to assess if a patient was fit for surgery
lung function tests, ECG and ECHO
which type of lung cancer has the better prognosis
Non-small cell
which subtype of NSCLC is the most prevalent
Squamous cell. This is closely linked to smoking history.
Shows keratin or intercellular bridges on histology and commonly occurs in the central airways.
Which type of NSCLC is higher in women and not associated with smoking
adenocarcinoma. Shows glandular differentiation or mucin production. Majority arise in the periphery. Sometimes show a lepidic pattern.
what are the three features used to stage a tumour
T - tumour size
N - regional lymph node involvement
M - presence of absence of distant metastases
What are the main treatment options in NSCLC
Surgery is Stage I/II (sometimes), chemotherapy, radiotherapy. Immunotherapies based on genetics.
main treatment options for small cell lung carcinoma
chemo or radiotherapy. Often this will just be for palliative reasons.
what is the name of the drug given to people with lots of EGFR mutations in their lung cancer
erlotinib
what is the name of the drug given to those with ALK mutations
crizotinib
is a patient’s tumour contains many PDL-1 mutations which drug could you give them
nivolumab
