Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer Treatment | Lung Cancer Information

Non-small Cell Lung Cancer affects 90% of lung cancer patients. Non-small cell lung cancer is a combination of three distinct histologies including large cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and squamous or epidermoid carcinoma. These all have a potential of getting cured by surgical resection.

Because some small cell lung cancers can be confused on microscopic examination with non-small cell lung cancer, a differential diagnosis by a reputed pathologist should be considered before opting for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy is having partial responses and relieving of symptoms for short durations only in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer can be classified into three groups, Group-I, Group-II, and Group-III.

Group-I are patients with tumors that are surgically removable (Stage-I and II). This group of non-small cell lung cancer patients has a very good prognosis. The lung cancer is limited to the air passage lining and has not invaded the lung tissue at all. This can be completely curable by surgery alone. Wedge resection or segmentectomy can be performed with surgery. If the tumor is confined to one lobe, then surgical resection of that particular lobe is advocated for complete removal of the cancer cell. Group I patients have a low chance of cancer recurrence and this slightly improves the chance of survival.

Group-II (Stage-III A & Stage-III B) - patients with advanced stage of cancer either regionally (N2-N3) or locally (T3-T4). Radiation therapy alone can be used for Group II patients, but sometimes physicians prefer to combine chemotherapy with radiation therapy. Surgery is found to be effective in selected patients with N2 or T3. An individual's treatment in this group mainly depends on the location of the cancer in their lung as well as the lymph nodes it has spread to. During surgery, your surgeon may opt for the removal of the lymph nodes affected for complete eradication of lung cancer cells when the lymph nodes in the mediastinum shows positive for cancer cells.

Stage III B non-small cell lung cancer patients may show wide spread of lung cancer cells, but fortunately this can easily be removed by surgery. Better results follow combining good health, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

Group-III (Stage-IV) - The development of distant metastases (M1) in individuals. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy is advocated for this group of patients. The patients with confined distant metastases at a single location are found to have a better life expectancy than others of this group. Cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent, has been linked with a small survival advantage and short-term palliation of symptoms.

Successful treatment is found for Group-I patients and patients in the pathologic stage I (M0, N0, T1). Patients in Groups II and III can opt for clinical trials for finding out a good solution for the future generation, and also are potential candidates for studies evaluating new forms of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.