Cancer Red Flags

It is key for health care providers to recognize certain red flags of lung cancer, since the delay in diagnosis may lead to fatal disease.  The first red flag as mentioned earlier is the change in character of a well-established cough.  Next, a relative common complaint that patients have that may warrant further evaluation is hoarseness.  The hoarseness associated with lung cancer is most often secondary to the compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and has been reported in up to 20% of cases.  Digital clubbing is another non-specific physical finding, however up to 30% of patient with this physical finding may have a primary lung carcinoma.  And as with any “pathologic fracture,” a malignancy should be sought.

 

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