[Fat Bear Science] In Chongqing, 60 out of every 100,000 people suffer from lung cancer, and about 90% of them are caused by smoking...

A purely random genetic mutation?

So, your chances of getting cancer were largely determined when God created you! ?

Is it really bad luck to have cancer?

The so-called cancer prevention is actually useless! ?

…

Will such research overturn our understanding of tumors?

For this purpose, Pang Xiong invited Yu Huiqing, deputy director of our hospital's Oncology Department, to explain them to us one by one.

Experts of this issue

Yu Huiqing

Yu Huiqing: Deputy Director of the Department of Oncology and Director of the Department of Palliative and Pain Therapy at Chongqing Cancer Hospital, Chief Physician/Professor. She is mainly engaged in the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors, especially in tumor chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy. She has rich clinical experience. She is particularly good at the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, malignant lymphoma and other diseases. Clinic hours: all day on Wednesday

Gene mutations do not necessarily mean cancer

"I have paid attention to the relevant reports. This research is based on certain data analysis, so we can neither deny that it has a certain scientific basis, nor blindly believe that getting cancer is just bad luck." In response to this study, Director Yu, an expert at Chongqing Cancer Hospital, said that to date, improving lifestyle habits, avoiding exposure to carcinogenic environmental factors, and standardized cancer risk screening are still the most effective ways to prevent cancer, and there is a huge amount of research evidence to support this.

Even if we follow the statement in the Science paper that “66% of cancer-related gene mutations are caused by random errors in gene replication”, it cannot be equated to “66% of cancers are caused by bad luck of the patient” because gene mutation does not mean that you will have cancer.

"This study does not cover all cancers, and not all cancers are the same." Director Yu said that genetics, environment and gene mutations are different causative factors in different cancers.

"According to the original paper, cancer may require multiple gene mutations, and some external factors are also one of the important factors that induce gene mutations. As long as one of the mutations is caused by external factors, then this cancer can be prevented to a large extent." Yu Huiqing believes that avoiding carcinogenic factors in the external environment and promoting a healthy lifestyle are still very effective in preventing some cancers. For example, lung cancer has a low correlation with genetics, and no genetic factors have been found to cause lung cancer.

89% of lung cancer is caused by smoking

According to statistics from the Chongqing Cancer Prevention and Treatment Office, the cancer incidence rate in our city is 269/100,000 people, among which lung cancer has the highest incidence rate, with 60 people suffering from lung cancer in every 100,000 people. At the same time, lung cancer is also the cancer with the highest mortality rate.

Research shows that 89% of lung cancer is caused by smoking, but 35% of gene mutations are simply due to random errors in gene replication. Director Yu said that the occurrence of lung cancer is related to many factors such as smoking, occupation, air pollution, and genetic factors, but smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, which is a recognized conclusion in the medical community.

Director Yu said that people who have smoked for more than 20 years, those who started smoking before the age of 20, and those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, as long as they meet any of the above three conditions, are at high risk of lung cancer.

Studies have found that tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 harmful substances and some unknown factors. However, lung cancer is still common in non-smokers, mainly in women and adenocarcinoma, and the cause still needs further study.

Doing preventive screening can reduce the chance of bad luck

"If some gene mutations are irresistible, at least there are many preventive measures we can take." Director Yu said that when two negative factors are combined, the bad luck will be doubled. If prevention and screening are done well, the chance of bad luck will be reduced.

"Many people do not pay attention to early screening of cancer, so the disease is often in the middle or late stages." Director Yu said that among the patients with lung cancer hospitalized in our hospital last year, 2/3 of the patients were already in the middle or late stages when they were diagnosed. Early lung cancer can be cured by surgery, but when it develops to the middle or late stages, it often metastasizes to distant sites, and the most common sites of metastasis are the brain, liver, bones, adrenal glands, etc. This is the reason for the high mortality rate of lung cancer.

Smokers should get checked promptly if they find the following symptoms

Director Yu reminded that smokers who are at high risk of lung cancer should not only reduce smoking, but also pay attention to their physical condition and do some targeted examinations regularly.

Low-dose spiral CT screening is currently the most sensitive and specific lung cancer screening method.

It is recommended that patients with high-risk factors undergo screening once a year, which can reduce the mortality rate of lung cancer.

Blood tumor marker tests can also be performed, and multiple tests can be combined to make a comprehensive judgment.

At the same time, early lung cancer has no specific symptoms, and occasional chest pain and coughing may not be directly related to lung nodules. Therefore, if the following symptoms occur, you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible to screen for lung cancer.

1. Irritating cough, with no improvement after two weeks of anti-inflammatory treatment;

2. Blood in sputum, such as blood streaks or blood clots;

3. Chest pain, irregular chest tightness, pressure, dull pain, and shortness of breath;

4. The above symptoms are accompanied by fever;

5. Weight loss, hoarseness, fatigue, difficulty breathing, pain somewhere in the body, etc.

Text/ Fat Bear Picture/ Online Reviewer/ Yu Huiqing

No reproduction without authorization

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