If the tumor involves the surface of the lung or invades the ribs, it can cause persistent pain. Sometimes this pain will be sharp and accentuated by deep breaths or coughing. This type of pain is called "pleurisy".
If a major air passage is narrowed by tumor, shortness of breath and pneumonia may occur.
If the tumor metastasizes to the brain, it can cause headaches or disturbances of vision, speech, balance, muscle power or sensation.
Bone metastasis presents as persistent localized pain in bones.
None of these symptoms is specific for lung cancer, and all can be caused by benign diseases including pneumonia, but when they occur in a patient who is a cigarette smoker, they should be promptly evaluated by a physician.
A chest x-ray should be part of the evaluation in most cases.