Treatment approaches in lung cancer
In the early stages of lung cancer, as in other cancers, the most effective treatment method is surgical intervention. Removal of the tumor with clear surgical margins provides complete cure in 50-60 percent of the patients. It provides.
However, early diagnosis is not always possible in lung cancer. In the vast majority of cases, the diagnosis can be made in the advanced stages. In this case, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are applied together, and although the life of the patients is extended with these applications, it is often not possible for them to get rid of their diseases completely.
I should also point out this; In cases where there is no distant organ metastasis but surgery cannot be performed due to cancer involvement of the main vessels, esophagus, and trachea, the best disease control can be achieved with simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy applications. For these reasons, the majority of lung cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
It is also very important to determine the tumor type by pathological evaluation during the diagnosis of lung cancer. Surgical intervention is not recommended for small cell lung cancer, which accounts for approximately 20 percent of lung cancers, except in very early stages. Small cell lung cancer can metastasize to distant organs at an early stage, but very effective disease control can be achieved with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in both early and advanced stages. With simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy applications in the early stages, long-term survival extending beyond 5 years can be observed.
On the other hand, I should also point out that; Lung cancers “Adeno” aini type. For this reason, EGFR and ALK mutations should be looked for in adeno cancers, especially in non-smoking patients. In the presence of these mutations, better results are obtained with the use of some drugs than chemotherapy.
In lung cancer, starting from the diagnosis stage, the treatment plan must be made in cooperation with specialties such as chest diseases, thoracic surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology and pathology. However, with these approaches, patients' quality of life Long-term survival without deterioration is possible. Even in the best centers for advanced disease, the expected survival of patients does not reach several years. For this reason, prevention (cessation of tobacco use) is the most valuable approach in lung cancer.
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