Major Warning Signs of Lung Cancer

Recurrent Infections

Recurrent infections are a common manifestation of lung cancer in affected individuals and are often present when a lung cancer diagnosis is made. Because lung cancer is characterized by a moss of rapidly multiplying, non-functional cells in the lungs, the bronchi can become easily obstructed. The bronchi are the tubes that go to each lung after branching off of the trachea. Partial or full obstruction of one of these tubes by malignant cells can cause viruses and bacteria to enter the lungs and multiply before they can be expelled. Aspiration is also another cause of recurrent infections in lung cancer patients. Aspiration occurs when an individual inhales a foreign object such as food into the lungs and is not able to expel it.

Pneumonia often occurs when the germs from aspirated food particles or vomit cause the lung to become infected. In addition, recurrent infections can happen due to the impairment of local host defense mechanisms in the respiratory tract. If lung cancer has damaged the mucociliary epithelium responsible for transporting invading microorganisms away from the lung, an infection can develop. Malignant cells can impair the defense mechanism of the alveolar macrophages and tissue histiocytes responsible for engulfing the invading microorganism that has reached the alveoli.

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