Study reveals unexpected harbinger of cancer

Changing shape of fingers can indicate lung cancer, according to The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Report informs referring to Express.

Cancer Research UK goes into more detail about the symptom, otherwise known as digital clubbing or Hippocratic fingers.

Finger clubbing happens in stages; the first being that ‘the base of the nail (nail bed) becomes soft and the skin next to the nail bed becomes shiny.’

The next stage is when ‘the nails then curve more than normal when looked at from the side’ (i.e., Scarmouth’s sign).

Then ‘the ends of the fingers may get larger’ - sometimes called drumstick fingers.

In the later stages of finger clubbing, extra bone areas might form on the finger joints, wrists, and ankles.

This is known as hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPOA) and may be mistaken for arthritis.

Experts advise paying attention to other common signs of cancer: breathlessness, repetitive chest infections, chest or shoulder pain, and/or loss of appetite.