Science AMA Series: I’m Dr. Gerard A. Silvestri, an expert in lung
cancer, interventional pulmonology, and President of the American
College of Chest Physicians, and I would love to share the barriers and
the diagnosis of treatments in lung cancer. AMA!
Abstract
My name is Dr. Gerard A. Silvestri. I’m an international expert in lung
cancer and interventional pulmonology. I am the President of the
American College of Chest Physicians, the George Sr. and Margaret
Hillenbrand Professor of Thoracic Oncology, and Vice-Chair of Medicine
for faculty development at the Medical University of South Carolina in
Charleston. I am a writer and editor of the American College of Chest
Physicians lung cancer guidelines; I’ve authored more than 200
scientific articles, book chapters, and editorials; and have had the
opportunity to serve on multiple editorial boards of medical journals,
including the journal CHEST®. My passion to find new treatments and
create guidelines for lung cancer is truly to help inform the public on
a disease that takes the lives of many annually and assist in any way I
can. Lung cancer, the second most common cancer in both men and women,
is responsible for nearly one in five cancer deaths annually. There are
many factors we come across daily that can cause lung cancer, including:
air pollution, exposure to radon, aging, history of cancer in other
parts of the body, secondhand smoke, and air pollution, and lung cancer
can even run in families. While smoking is the number one cause of lung
cancer, as it accounts for 80% to 85% of all lung cancer cases, we
need to change the viewpoint that lung cancer is something that patients
bring onto themselves. There are several factors that play into lung
cancer, and many patients who receive this diagnosis are, in fact,
nonsmokers. There are two types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC) represents 80% to 90% of all lung cancer cases each
year, while small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 10% to 20% of
cases and tends to grow more quickly than NSCLC. Due to the various
types of the disease, there is no one-size-fits-all method to treating
lung cancer. Different types of lung cancer often behave differently in
the body, and treatment decisions are normally based on the patient, the
type of cancer they have, and what is known as the stage of cancer. I’d
love to share information about the barriers and the diagnosis and
treatments in lung cancer and hope I can leave you with some insight on
the disease and future advancements to come. I will be back at 1 pm ET
to answer your questions, ask me anything!