The causes of lung cancer are not fully known. However, some factors have been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. Effective control of these risk factors, most of which are preventable, will reduce the development of lung cancer.
The causes of lung cancer are not fully known. However, some factors have been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. Effective control of these risk factors, most of which are preventable, will reduce the development of lung cancer.
These risk factors are:
- Tobacco and tobacco products: The main factor in most lung cancers is tobacco and tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookahs. It is the responsible factor for 75% of lung cancers. Tobacco and tobacco products contain more than 7000 chemicals. How long and how much is smoked per day determines the risk. In addition, the type of tobacco product smoked and additional additives are also important. For example, in the use of hookah, harmful chemicals that pass through the water adhere more tightly to the lung tissue. In menthol cigarette use, chemicals reach the deeper parts of the lung more easily. E-cigarettes have the same risk. People who use tobacco products have a 15-30 times higher risk of lung cancer than non-smokers.
- Passive smoking: People who do not use tobacco and tobacco products are exposed to chemicals when they are in the environments where they are used. For this reason, they are as much at risk as those who use tobacco and tobacco products.
- Radon gas: Found in rocks, soil, water. It is colorless, odorless. It can be found in the construction of building materials or in the basements of houses, drinking water. It is considered to be the second most common cause of lung cancer after smoking. Precautions such as frequent ventilation of houses and measurements of drinking water can be life-saving.
- Asbestos: It has been used in many industrial areas such as construction, ship, automotive, textile for many years. It has been frequently used especially in the manufacture of mains water pipes and in house construction. It has nail-shaped projections that enter the lung tissue when inhaled. Long-term exposure can cause many serious diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma. Working with these materials or destroying the materials containing these materials is a process that requires special precautions and requires expertise.
- Arsenic: It is a substance that can be mixed with drinking water, which is found in the soil structure in some regions. Prolonged exposure to drinking water may cause lung cancer.
- Other chemicals: Heavy metals such as silica, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and toxic chemicals, mostly originating from industrial facilities, can also cause lung cancer. It is important to take occupational health and safety measures in environments where these substances are used, and to prevent them from reaching water or agricultural areas.
- Genetic factors: Presence of lung cancer among family members may be a risk factor. In particular, the risk of lung cancer in close relatives such as parents and siblings and smoking increases.
- Air pollution: Increasing industrialization and traffic is an important risk, especially in cities. Polluted air carries many harmful chemicals and heavy metals.
- Radiation: Radiation applied for treatment in some diseases such as breast cancer and Hodgkin’s disease creates a risk of lung cancer. The risk is higher in smokers.
- Dietary habits: Ingesting arsenic in drinking water, smokers taking supplements containing beta carotene may be a risk.
- Tuberculosis: In people with a previous history of tuberculosis (TB disease), lung cancer may develop in the later period in tuberculosis lesions.