Lung Cancer: Case Study (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Fight Against Lung Cancer in the 21st Century - Summary

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in Britain. It mainly impacts people over the age of 40. The 70-74 age group has the highest number of cases. There were over 48,000 cases of lung cancer between 2016 to 2018. The percentage of patients who survive more than ten years with lung cancer is only 10%. The majority of all lung cancer cases are preventable. Around 85% of sufferers are smokers or ex-smokers. Occasionally, breathing in chemicals like radon gas can result in a person developing lung cancer. 

There were very few cases of lung cancer in the 19th century. The University of Dresden in Germany noted that only 1% of all tumours were lung cancer. By 1918, this statistic increased to 10% and, by 1927, to 14%. In the 1920s, smoking was very fashionable. Tobacco companies aggressively advertised cigarettes from the First World War onwards. Many companies created slogans and used celebrities in their adverts. This shows that tobacco companies wanted to influence society's attitude towards smoking. Some advertisements hired fake doctors to reassure customers that smoking was good for their health. 

By 1950, up to 80% of British men were regular smokers. A study by the British Medical Council proved the link between the rise in lung cancer cases and people smoking cigarettes. Despite the warnings, people continued to smoke. In 1973, almost 26,000 deaths were due to lung cancer. 

The British government began the fight against lung cancer in the 21st century. The NHS uses the latest technology for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. The government has introduced laws to change and influence public behaviour in an attempt to deter smoking. Lung cancer remains a risk to public health today

Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

• Lung cancer is very hard to diagnose

  • Patients can mistake their symptoms for other conditions

  • Cancerous tumours in the lungs are hard to detect before they become very large

  • There is no national screening programme for lung cancer

• Before advances in technology, diagnosis of lung cancer relied on using an X-ray machine 

  • A patient would have an X-ray taken of their lungs

  • The doctor would examine the X-ray for signs of a tumour

• Using X-rays is not an effective way to diagnose lung cancer

  • abscesses in the lungs could be mistaken for cancer

    • Survival rates depend on rapid diagnosis of cancer 

  • X-rays did not provide an image with enough detail to accurately diagnose lung cancer

Stages in Identifying Lung Cancer

• Modern diagnosis now requires a patient to have a CT scan 

  • Dye is injected into a patient. This creates a clearer image of the lungs

• If the patient's CT scan shows signs of cancer, there are two pathways:

  1. Doctors perform a PET-CT scan. Instead of dye, a small amount of radiation is injected into the patient before the scan. A doctor will then look for cancerous cells in the lungs

  2. Doctors perform a bronchoscopy. A camera called a bronchoscope is inserted into the body through the mouth. When it reaches the lungs, the doctor will collect a biopsy of cells for analysis

• When cancer is diagnosed, the doctor can analyse how severe the cancer is and create a treatment plan

  • Cancer is measured in stages between 1 and 4. Stage 1 cancer is small and in one area. Stage 4 cancer is advanced cancer. This cancer has spread to other parts of the person's body

Process for Diagnosing Lung Cancer

A flowchart showing the steps to diagnosing lung cancer

Treatment of Lung Cancer: Science & Technology

• Lung cancer treatments depend on how early a doctor can diagnose the tumour

Radiotherapy

• The process aims radiation at a tumour to reduce its size

  • Radiation can target the tumour from outside the body or a catheter can administer radiation next to the tumour

• Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for different sizes of tumours

  • Small tumours may be destroyed without the use of surgery

  • It may slow down the growth of larger tumours 

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy involves injecting drugs into the patient over the course of multiple treatments spanning several months

  • Some drugs kill the cancerous tumours or slow their growth

  • Other drugs will treat the symptoms of the cancer

• Chemotherapy can cause severe side effects such as:

  • Extreme sickness

  • Hair loss

  • A higher risk of catching infections

Transplants

• If cancer has spread within the lung, the patient can receive a healthy lung from a donor

• Patients can recover without the use of a transplant. Humans only need one lung to survive

Genetic research

• Scientists are exploring the use of genetics to treat lung cancer

• Some tumours shrink faster with chemotherapy than others

  • Scientists believe that tumours have a variety of genetic mutations which react differently to chemotherapy

• Within the next generation, it is possible that lung cancer can be treated with pharmacogenomics

  • This is when scientists adapt treatments to suit each individual's DNA structure

Prevention of Lung Cancer: Government Action

• The British government did not want to fight the tobacco industry

  • The government earned £4 billion from tax placed on tobacco

  • Many British citizens worked for tobacco companies

  • They had never told citizens to stop a habit before

• It became clear that the government needed to act

  • Deaths linked to smoking were costing the NHS £165 million each year

• The government approached preventing lung cancer in two ways:

  1. Influence public behaviour by communicating the risks of smoking on public health

  2. Pass laws which demanded that the public change their behaviour or face punishment

How Did the Government Influence and Change the Behaviour Around Smoking in the 21st Century?