Lung Tumour - Types, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

You may find that your lung is developing some suspicious lumps inside it, which can immediately create distress. The first thing that comes to mind is whether your lung tumour is cancerous. In most cases, the tumour turns out to be benign, which has no risk of cancer. However, learning more about your tumour will help you figure out whether you still should be concerned or not.

Team Digit

What Is a Lung Tumour?

A tumour depicts an unusual growth of tissue by the accumulation of unnecessary cells that are dividing rapidly. A lung tumour is a tumour type that develops in the tissues inside a lung or in the airways leading to the lungs.

Who Is at Risk of Lung Tumour?

Lung tumours can grow in both men and women, along with children. But you are at most risk if you are -

Over the age of 65.
Have a family history of lung tumours.
Active and passive smoker.
Exposed to asbestos or other pollutants.

What Are the Types of Lung Tumours?

You can find primarily 2 types as benign and malignant lung tumours. But before getting into that, you must get a clear idea of the terminology regarding the tumour.

Lung Lesion: A lesion is an abnormal spot that an X-ray or CT scan can spot. This can be a benign or a malignant tumour, granulomas related to rheumatoid arthritis, scar tissue, infectious processes, a lung abscess or anything else.
Lung Nodule: Lung nodule is when a lung is 3 centimetres or 1.2 inches in diameter or less. Nodules that are found in your lung are typically called pulmonary nodules.
Lung Mass: Lung mass is an abnormal area of tissue that is 3 centimetres or 1.2 inches or larger.

Now that you know all the relatable terms surrounding tumours inside your lung, below are some most common types:

Hamartoma:

This is the most common benign lung tumour type and the 3rd most common cause for desolate pulmonary nodules. It accounts for approximately 8% of all types of lung tumour types and 55% of all non-cancerous lung tumours.

This firm marble-like tumour is usually under 4 centimetres in diameter and comprises tissues like fat, cartilage, and lung's lining tissue.

It grows in a coin like fluffy wool or popcorn and appears in chest x-ray as coin-like round growth. This tumour mostly (about 80%) occurs in the outer part of the lung's connective tissue and partly inside the bronchial tubes. Men and women between 50 and 70 years of age generally tend to be diagnosed with this tumour development.

Bronchial Adenoma:

Another common lung tumour type is bronchial adenoma, which makes up about half of the benign tumours. This is a diverse group of tumours that grows in the lungs' large airways (bronchi) or mucous glands and ducts of the trachea. A mucous gland adenoma is an example of a true benign bronchial adenoma.

Papilloma:

It is one of the rare types of Lung Tumours that is benign and grows in the bronchial tubes. This is further classified into 3 types, such as squamous, glandular and mixed squamous and glandular. Squamous may occur in adults and children equally, whereas glandular and mixed squamous and glandular may occur in adults.

Rare Neoplasm:

Rare neoplasm consists of connective tissue or fatty tissue. This benign tumour may include fibromas, chondromas, or lipomas.

Carcinoid:

A lung carcinoid tumour is a type of cancerous tumour that neuroendocrine cells form. These cells are present throughout your body, including the lungs. Hence, this tumour is rarely (2 of 10 carcinoid tumours) found in the lungs. This tumour further has 2 types, typical (grows slowly and rarely beyond the lungs) and atypical (grows rapidly and beyond the lungs).

What Causes Lung Tumour?

Despite the causes of lung tumours can not be understood adequately by medical experts, here are some possible problems that result in this tumour -

Granulomas or tiny clumps of inflamed cells, developing from a bacterial infection or fungal infections. These infections include tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, or aspergillosis or coccidioidomycosis.
Inflammation from diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis or Wegener's granulomatosis.
A bacteria-led pus-filled infection or abscess in lungs.
Tuberculosis.
Infections caused by human papilloma virus.
Round pneumonia (rare in adults).
Issues by birth, including scars, a lung cyst or other structural defects in lungs.
Smoking.

Signs and Symptoms of a Lung Tumour

There are barely any lung tumour symptoms that show up, especially if it is benign. It is often found accidentally on a chest X-ray or CT scan. However, the symptoms may include:

Mild cough that lasts or coughing up blood.
Wheezing, shortness of breath and breathing problems.
Rattling sound in the lung.
Fever, especially pneumonia.

Different Stages of Lung Tumour

Benign lung tumours typically have no significant stages. In fact, they do not always grow in size and sometimes may shrink as well. However, a malignant or Carcinoid tumour has stages like all the other cancerous tumours.

Stage	Description
Occult stage	This stage is also called hidden cancer, as imaging scans or a biopsy cannot capture your tumour. However, imaging of your coughed-up mucus may pick up cancer cells.
0	Your tumour is significantly small in this stage, and cancer cells have yet not spread to the outer surface of your lung or deeper lung tissues.
1	The cancer cells have spread to the lung tissues but node to the lymph nodes.
2	In this stage, the lymph nodes are affected by the cancer cells.
3	The cancer cells have spread beyond the lymph nodes and captured the middle of your chest.
4	This is the final stage of a malignant lung tumour. Cancer has spread widely around your body, such as your brain, bones, or liver, by this stage.

What Are the Treatments for Lung Tumour?

Ideally, benign lung tumours do not require treatment. In some cases, the treatment depends on the symptoms. Your doctor will ask you for a regular diagnosis through X-rays, and CT scans over months to a year. A medical expert will only recommend a biopsy or surgery to remove the tumour when tests show that your tumour can turn cancerous. The nodule continues to grow in size, or symptoms start being more prominent.

The treatments for malignant lung tumours are:

Surgery

There are several surgical lung tumour treatments, including lobectomy, pneumonectomy, sublobar resection and lymph node dissection. These involve the removal of portions of your lungs to cut off the cancerous tumour.

Radiation Therapy

Professionals carry out this treatment by using high energy radiation to destroy the cancer cells in your body. Usually, a series of external radiation therapy is provided from outside periodically. Doctors give radiation using tiny pellets or rods that reach the adjacent areas of your tumour through a small catheter.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy treats the cancer cells directly by concentrating high radiation internally. Patients mostly require this treatment when cancer has spread beyond their lungs to other parts or organs of their body.

How to Prevent Lung Tumour?

There are not many ways out to stop or prevent the development of a lung tumour, but you can lower the risk in the following ways -

Quit smoking entirely or reduce consumption as researches show major risk factors of growing lung cancers in smokers.
Avoid being a passive smoker because passive smoking affects your lungs the same as smoking actively.
Avoid working in a place that can expose you to toxic chemicals. If you work in such a place, protect yourself through proper safety measures.
Do not opt for a place where radon is a problem. Also, check the radon and other pollutant levels at your home.
Maintain a healthy diet that contains loads of healthy and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Add exercise to your daily routine and try to do it early in the morning for a plentiful supply of fresh air into your body.

A lung tumour, if benign, is not a matter to be afraid of. In most cases, the unwanted cell growth stops, and your tumour starts shrinking. However, you must keep diagnosing it regularly and call your doctor if you notice a gradual increase in the size. Also, do not overlook the symptoms as those are silent signals to any possible risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

All

What is the chance of being cured of a lung tumour?

There is an 80 to 90% chance of cure in the case of small and early-stage lung tumours, but the rate drops dramatically once the tumour becomes cancerous and starts affecting the lymph node.

Can benign lung tumours turn into cancerous tumours?

Yes, specific types of tumours can turn into malignant tumours. The tumours must be monitored through regular checkups to avoid such risks.

Can benign lung tumours be invasive?

No, typically benign tumours cannot spread through adjacent tissues or distant sites.