Treatment Options For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 80 to 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer. As expected, lung cancer starts in the lung tissues. Warning signs of lung cancer include chest pain, chronic coughing, shortness of breath, and coughing up blood.

Cigarette smoking and secondhand exposure to cigarette smoke are the most common causes of lung cancer. However, there are also other risk factors and causes, since individuals without exposure and who do not smoke can still get lung cancer. Thus, research still needs to be done. It is worth noting, however, that the chemicals in smoke are what result in lung cancer, since they trigger cell damage that can cause DNA mutations.

Although non-small lung cancers are typically slow-growing, prompt treatment is vital for patients to achieve a lung cancer cure. The stage of cancer is the major factor in determining what type of lung cancer treatment a patient receives. Common strategies for treatment include radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy for lung cancer.

Surgery

Surgery is a common treatment option employed for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, particularly in the early stages of the condition. The precise procedure used does, however, depend on the location of the tumor in the lungs as well as its size. When lung cancer is localized, surgeons will use a wedge resection. This involves the removal of the affected tissues as well as a small amount of surrounding healthy lung tissue. Cases that affect a larger section of the lungs require a segmental resection, which removes the malignant tumor and a larger portion of lung tissue.

If a patient’s cancer is extensive, they may need a lobectomy, where an entire lobe is removed. The most serious surgery used for non-small cell lung cancer is an entire lung removal in a procedure called a pneumonectomy. This is used when little lung tissue can be spared.

Discover an alternative treatment to surgery for lung cancer next.

Radiation Therapy

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who cannot undergo surgery for any reason, whether it is they are not strong enough or their cancer is not able to be removed in this way, are often faced with radiation therapy. Radiation for this type of cancer is usually administered through external beam radiation. This is a method that uses high energy beams aimed at the affected area from a machine outside the patient’s body. It is aimed at a localized area to avoid damage to healthy tissue as much as possible. This, of course, is not always possible and some damage still occurs.

Lung cancer patients may also undergo a form of radiation therapy that uses radioactive material placed inside their body close to the cancerous tissue. This is intended to kill the cancerous cells. The radioactive material is normally removed from the patient’s body after a predetermined period.

Uncover more information on how radiation therapy and surgery may be used to treat lung cancer next.

Radiosurgery

Radiosurgery, an alternative to open surgery, places metal pieces around the cancerous tissue as markers for the machine used during surgery. They are usually placed up to 3 weeks before the intended treatment session. A needle may be used to avoid incisions, though small incisions may be necessary in some cases. Radiation is then aimed at the area inside these markers from several angles simultaneously. This makes the radiation therapy more powerful. In fact, because of the use of radiation in this method, many consider radiosurgery an advanced method of radiation therapy.

Get the details on one of the most commonly used treatments for cancer overall and how it works for non-small cell lung cancer next.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is perhaps the most popular cancer treatment out there. It is commonly paired with radiation therapy and can also be used before surgery to shrink the size of the patient’s lung tumor. Patients may even undergo a round of chemotherapy after surgery to get any remaining cancerous tissue. Like radiation, chemotherapy may also be used when patients are unable to undergo surgery.

Chemotherapy uses potent medications to kill any cells in the body that are multiplying or dividing. Since cancerous cells divide more rapidly, multiply faster, and do not die in the same way as healthy cells, this treatment often gets to them first. However, healthy cells divide as well. This means chemotherapy can also kill healthy cells in the process.

Continue reading to find out how the immune system is employed to treat non-small cell lung cancer next.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a newer treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. It employs the patient’s immune system to find and fight cancerous cells. Research has made this treatment an effective one as the immune system is quite adaptable. For instance, checkpoint inhibitors in immunotherapy stop cancerous cells because they turn off the checks and balances part of the immune system that is compromised in cancer patients.

Additionally, monoclonal antibodies use artificial antibodies that are designed to target cancerous cells and attack them. This is similar to the natural antibodies of the immune system. Another form of immunotherapy removes immune T-cells and alters them in a lab before they are put back into the patient’s body to kill cancerous cells.