November every year is' Global Lung Cancer Awareness Month '. Lung cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest incidence rate and mortality in China. With the popularization of chest CT, more and more pulmonary nodules are being screened. At present, it is the peak of year-end physical examinations. Once lung nodules are found during the examination, does it mean there is a risk of developing into lung cancer? Do pulmonary nodules require immediate surgery? Pulmonary nodules ≠ Lung cancer are mostly benign, as recommended by experts. Nodules larger than 2 millimeters can be detected on CT. Pulmonary nodules are not equal to lung cancer, and the vast majority are benign. When a lung nodule is first detected on a chest CT scan, do not panic. Follow the doctor's advice for regular follow-up to observe changes in the lung nodule. Yang Fan, Vice President of Peking University People's Hospital: In many places, people have created too much anxiety by equating ground glass nodules with lung cancer, resulting in a large number of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Chief Expert of Thoracic Surgery at Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Zhi Xiuyi: Especially for ground glass nodules with a diameter of less than or equal to 3 centimeters, over 95% of them are benign. Determine whether clinical intervention is needed by observing changes in size, edge, and density. Those smaller than 6 millimeters do not require intervention, annual health check ups are sufficient. Experts suggest that high-risk individuals aged 50 and above should undergo chest CT scans. Although most lung nodules are benign and do not require treatment, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in lung cancer patients aged 40 to 50. Due to the unclear early symptoms of lung cancer, 70% to 80% of patients are diagnosed in the middle to late stages. Therefore, experts remind that high-risk individuals aged 50 and above should undergo at least one chest CT scan for early screening of lung cancer. Zhi Xiuyi, Chief Expert of the Thoracic Surgery Department at Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University: If you are over 50 years old, have a smoking index of over 400, that is, smoke more than one pack per day, and have been smoking continuously for more than 20 years; Individuals with a family history of cancer, including those with a family history of lung cancer and a history of chronic lung diseases; For individuals with environmental occupational exposure who have not yet undergone chest CT, it is recommended to do so. The 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients is increasing year by year. Although lung cancer is relatively high, there are currently mature treatment methods in China. At the same time, with the continuous improvement of China's cancer prevention and treatment system and the steady improvement of standardized diagnosis and treatment, the 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients is increasing year by year. Ms. Guo, who is 53 years old this year, just underwent minimally invasive surgery for pulmonary nodules at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The wound is only 3 millimeters in size and can be covered with a band aid. Ms. Guo discovered a small nodule in her right lung during her 2021 physical examination, measuring approximately 4 millimeters in size. This year's re examination showed that the nodule had grown to 6 millimeters and had a suspicious morphology. This small nodule has become a concern for Ms. Guo. Without surgery, she is worried that it may be lung cancer. However, with surgery, a large piece of lung tissue needs to be removed, which makes her very scared. Patient Ms. Guo: The doctor said I have a high-risk nodule, which has always been a ticking time bomb in my mind. I worry about it every year, and I have been following up for follow-up examinations every year. This year's re examination showed that the nodule has grown, and the doctor suggested that I can adopt this new technique. New minimally invasive technology enables smaller trauma and faster recovery. Under the guidance of the navigation system, the surgical team accurately delivered the special spherical cutter to the location of the pulmonary nodule through a 3mm puncture hole on the patient's chest. Then the spherical cutter opened, wrapped the pulmonary nodule, and removed the lesion, leaving only a spherical resection cavity with a diameter of about 15mm in the lung. On that day, Ms. Guo's surgery was very successful, and postoperative pathological examination confirmed that her pulmonary nodules were carcinoma in situ. This new minimally invasive technology makes surgical trauma smaller and recovery faster. Professor Liu Lunxu from West China Hospital of Sichuan University: Currently, there are many small nodules in the lungs that can be treated at a much earlier stage through minimally invasive and minimally invasive methods, solving a potentially huge problem with minimal cost. New therapies are driving lung cancer treatment into the era of precision. Currently, with targeted therapy, immunotherapy and other new therapies constantly breaking through the bottleneck of efficacy, lung cancer treatment has entered the era of precision and personalization. Yang Fan, Vice President of Peking University People's Hospital: Today, we are no longer talking about cure for early-stage lung cancer, but about how little it costs to be cured while maintaining normal work and life abilities. Even for advanced lung cancer, some patients have already become chronic and their expected survival has exceeded 5 years. (New Society)