What's the difference between tuberculosis, pneumonia and lung cancer?

The difference between pneumonia, lung cancer and tuberculosis mainly lies in the following aspects:

First, the cause, pneumonia is mostly caused by viruses or bacteria, fungi, atypical pathogens; Tuberculosis is caused by the invasion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Lung cancer is caused by the spread of cancer cells to the lungs.

Second, pneumonia, lung cancer and tuberculosis have different manifestations on chest CT, and pneumonia shows exudative lesions; Lung cancer is characterized by space occupation, lobulation and burr, which can cause pleural effusion and lymph node enlargement; Pulmonary tuberculosis generally presents as miliary disseminated lesions, and pulmonary tuberculosis has cavities.

Third, the symptoms are different. Pneumonia mostly manifests as cough, expectoration, chest pain and persistent high fever; But lung cancer and tuberculosis will be thinner, and there will be low fever, hemoptysis and chest pain. If cancer cells invade the superior vena cava, it may lead to compression of recurrent laryngeal nerve and hoarseness. And tuberculosis will have typical night sweats.

Fourth, the prognosis is also different, tuberculosis and pneumonia can be cured; However, at present, the survival time of advanced lung cancer is short.