The Knowledge Board:
Cancer (Lung)
The type of treatment used for lung cancer depends on a number of factors, such as the specific type of cancer, at which stage the cancer has been found and how much it has spread as well as the general conditions of the patient. The most employed treatments include:
• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiotherapy
• Molecular therapies
Doctors decide upon surgery only when the tumor is localized to a confined area and has not spread or infiltrated into other organs to the point it cannot longer be surgically removed. According with the different cases and the gravity of the cancer surgery can involve the removal of part of a lung lobe, of an anatomic division of a lobe, of an entire lobe, of two lobes or even the entire lung. Surgery is usually only an option in cases of non-small cell lung carcinoma confined to one lung.
Naturally, in-depth investigations such as scan and PET, as well as other tests including blood test and lung functioning test, will help to determine the status of the cancer. The general conditions of the patient cannot sometimes allow a surgical intervention, for instance when he or she suffers from a heart disease or from poor respiration due to a chronic pulmonary disease.
Chemotherapy – a treatment regimen constitutes by chemical that kill cells - is used to treat mainly small cell lung carcinoma, although it is sometimes also employed in metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma. The combinations of chemicals vary accordingly with the type of lung cancer.
Chemotherapy is also given after surgery to help the outcome, especially when, through a biopsy performed during surgery, cancer is found in the lymph nodes.
Radiotherapy is usually given in combination with chemotherapy or to treat patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma who are potentially curable, often together with chest radiation. The use of radiotherapy after curative surgery for non-small cell lung carcinoma is still not very used and controversial. It can only be beneficial if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
Palliative radiotherapy - smaller doses of radiation to the chest – is sometimes employed to control symptoms. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is given to patients with limited small cell lung carcinoma to reduce the risk of developing metastasis. Is has been proved PCI reduces considerably the risk of developing brain metastasis within one year.
In the past few years, a number of molecular targeted therapies have been developed for the treatment of advanced lung cancer. These drugs seem to give better results amongst females, Asian, non-smokers and patients with a specific form of lung cancer called bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.
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