The menace of communicable diseases significantly threatens global health and well-being, transcending borders and affecting populations. From ancient plagues to modern pandemics, infectious diseases such as influenza and COVID-19 have wreaked havoc on societies. They have claimed countless lives and destabilised economies. In this article, we explicate whether lung cancer is contagious.
What are communicable diseases?
Communicable diseases are infectious illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria. They jump from one person to another through contaminated surfaces, bodily fluids, blood, insect bites, or the air we breathe. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections (STI) remain the major causes of disease and death in low-income countries and marginalised populations. As per WHO, HIV claims 36.3 million lives globally.
What are non-communicable diseases?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), or chronic illnesses, are long-lasting illnesses. They may result from a mix of genetics, body functions, environment, and lifestyle choices. These include heart disease, stroke, various cancers, chronic lung problems, and diabetes. As per WHO, NCDs kill 41 million people each year. Low- and middle-income countries account for 77% of these deaths. Smoking, physical inactivity, the harmful effects of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and air pollution are major contributors to NCDs.
Lung cancer also falls into the category of NCDs. The major causative agent for it is smoking. Other causes may be environmental exposure to asbestos, radon, air pollution and cooking fumes. Lung cancer can spread to bones and other parts of the body, nearer or farther to the lungs.
Does lung cancer spread to other humans?
The American Cancer Society states that cancer is not contagious. Close contact, such as sex, kissing, touching, sharing meals, or breathing the same air, cannot spread cancer.
People may assume that families may develop cancer as a communicable disease like the flu. But it is a myth. There might be a risk that members of a family may develop cancer. Nonetheless, the reason is not spread from person to person. Genetic hereditary is what increases the chances of lung cancer between family members. Additionally, the whole family may have unhealthy habits, like smoking. Lastly, the family may live in a region exposed to cancer-causing agents.
Another assumption may be that a pregnant cancer patient can spread it to her baby. In this case, the American Cancer Society states that some cancers may spread from the placenta to the baby. But there is no effect on the baby by most cancers. Studies have reported rare cases of cancer invasion through the placenta. However, they were quite old studies.
There are some cancer-causing infective agents, like Helicobacter and human papillomavirus (HPV). Though there is a likelihood of the spread of a virus or bacterium from person to person, the cancer they cause does not spread. Organ transplantation is the only situation in which lung cancer can be contagious. If the organ donor has cancer in the past, the organ recipient is at risk of developing lung cancer. However, it is important to note that doctors avoid organ transplantation from cancer patients. Additionally, the risk of transmitting cancer from transplantation is as low as two cases in 10,000 transplants.
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