What do Newly Diagnosed Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer Symptoms Need to Know?

If lung cancer isn't put into remission quickly, there's a good chance that it will spread (metastasize) to many other parts of the body beyond the lungs and lymph nodes near. The term "advanced lung cancer" may be used by doctors to describe metastatic lung cancer. Although the ailment is regarded as intractable, it may be reassuring to know that medicines that could slow its progression and possibly lengthen life are getting better every day.

Advanced Lung Cancer Types

Non-small cell lung tumors make up about 85% of all lung cancer cases. The final percentage of cases is made up of small cell lung cancer. Additionally, there are the following subtypes of advanced non-small cell lung cancer:

Lung adenocarcinoma: About 40% of non-small cell lung cancer tumors are of the cancer type formerly described as bronchoalveolar carcinoma (BAC). Young persons, non-smokers, and women are most likely to develop adenocarcinoma, the most prevalent kind of lung cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma: The tissues that line the air passages in the lung are where this type of cancer develops. This kind of non-small cell lung cancer, also referred to as epidermoid carcinoma, accounts for about 30% of all cases.

Large cell carcinoma: These tumors originate in the middle of the lungs and are frequently linked to smoking. They make up about 10% of cases of non-small cell lung cancer. Rare types of lung cancer and tumors that have features of more than one of the most common types make up the rest of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (these are defined as "other").

Stages

The term "advanced lung cancer"  refers to cancer that has progressed to stages 3B or 4. When non small cell lung cancer is discovered, about 17.6% of cases are already in stage 3B, and 40% are in stage 4.

Stage 3B: Non-small cell lung cancers in stage 3B are tumors of any size that have migrated to lymph nodes on the opposite side of the chest, around the collarbone. ,

Stage 3C: A tumor of any size that has metastasized to lymph nodes just above the collarbone on the affected side of the chest or to lymph nodes on the unaffected side of the chest is considered to be at stage 3C. Moreover, there is metastasis to localized chest tissues.

Stage 4: Non-small cell lung cancers of stage 4 have metastasized, either within the chest cavity (malignant pleural effusion) or to a different body part. The liver, brain, bones, and adrenal glands are the organs where lung cancer most frequently metastasizes.

Lung cancer screening is a life-saving procedure

As with many other diseases, a lung cancer diagnosis in its earlier stages is essential to surviving when it is most curable. The cure rate for people with tiny, early-stage lung cancer can reach 80% to 90%. As the tumour progresses and includes lymph nodes or other body parts, the likelihood of recovery falls dramatically.

Screening high-risk individuals for lung cancer with low-dose spiral CT scans has been shown to minimize fatalities from the disease. Compared to those who were examined with a chest X-ray, the National Lung Screening Trial revealed a 20% decrease in lung cancer deaths among heavy smokers who were now or previously smoking.

Only those at high risk should get a CT scan because it can produce "false-positive"  results by misdiagnosing scar tissue or benign tumor  as cancer. For these people, the advantages of early detection exceed any possible dangers from false positives. The following individuals should consider being screened for lung cancer:

● Between the ages of 55 and 80
● At least 30 packs of cigarettes smoked per year (one pack per year is equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes per day for an entire year)
● Healthy and free of lung cancer symptoms
● A year ago, there was no CT scan

Treatment

The most common cancer that leads to death is lung cancer. However, the advent of new treatments during the last two decades has contributed to an increase in overall survival rates for advanced cancer, particularly stage 4. Local therapy and systemic therapy are the two fundamental types of treatment.

Targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy are examples of systemic therapies. These are the recommended therapies for advanced lung cancer treatment because they can eliminate cancer cells that have spread outside the initial tumor site throughout your body. In some circumstances, local remedies may be used.

Prognosis

It's crucial to remember that these percentages have been improving, and the hope is that they will continue to do so while examining the data for stage 3B and stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer survival rates. Advanced lung cancer has a five-year survival rate of under 7%. Despite this, there are a growing number of long-term lung cancer survivors.

The Bottom Line

Your doctor can use imaging techniques as part of staging testing to check for signs that cancer has spread outside of your lungs. These examinations include bone scans, positron emission tomography (PET), CT, and MRI. Discuss whether tests are acceptable for you with your doctor because not everyone needs them.