Best Lung Cancer Hospitals in India

Lung Cancer Treatment in India

What is Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the lungs. Your lungs are two spongy organs in your chest that take in oxygen when you inhale and release carbon dioxide when you exhale. People who smoke have the greatest risk of lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes you've smoked. If you quit smoking, even after smoking for many years, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. These abnormal cells do not carry out the functions of normal lung cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. As they grow, the abnormal cells can form tumors and interfere with the functioning of the lung, which provides oxygen to the body via the blood.

Types and Staging of Lung Cancer

There are two major types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Staging lung cancer is based on whether the cancer is local or has spread from the lungs to the lymph nodes or other organs. Because the lungs are large, tumors can grow in them for a long time before they are found. Even when symptoms—such as coughing and fatigue—do occur, people think they are due to other causes. For this reason, early-stage lung cancer (stages I and II) is difficult to detect. Most people with lung cancer are diagnosed at stages III and IV.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 85 percent of lung cancers. Among them are these types of tumors:

• Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer in the United States among both men and women.
• Squamous cell carcinoma (which is also called epidermoid carcinoma) forms in the lining of the bronchial tubes.
• Large cell carcinomas refer to non-small cell lung cancers that are neither adenocarcinomas nor epidermoid cancers.

Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

• Stage I : The cancer is located only in the lungs and has not spread to any lymph nodes.
• Stage II : The cancer is in the lung and nearby lymph nodes.
• Stage III : Cancer is found in the lung and in the lymph nodes in the middle of the chest, also described as locally advanced disease. Stage III has two subtypes:
  
  • If the cancer has spread only to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest where the cancer started, it is called stage IIIA.
  • If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes on the opposite side of the chest, or above the collar bone, it is called stage IIIB.
• Stage IV : This is the most advanced stage of lung cancer, and is also described as advanced disease. This is when the cancer has spread to both lungs, to fluid in the area around the lungs, or to another part of the body, such as the liver or other organs.

Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small cell lung cancer results from smoking even more so than non-small cell lung cancer, and grow more rapidly and spread to other parts of the body earlier than non-small cell lung cancer. It is also more responsive to chemotherapy.

Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer

• Limited stage : In this stage, cancer is found on one side of the chest, involving just one part of the lung and nearby lymph nodes.
• Extensive stage : In this stage, cancer has spread to other regions of the chest or other parts of the body.

Symptoms

Early lung cancer often does not cause symptoms. But as the cancer grows, common symptoms may include:

• A cough that gets worse or does not go away
• Breathing trouble, such as shortness of breath
• Constant chest pain
• Coughing up blood
• A hoarse voice
• Frequent lung infections, such as pneumonia
• Feeling very tired all the time
• Weight loss with no known cause

Most often these symptoms are not due to cancer. Other health problems can cause some of these symptoms. Anyone with such symptoms should see a doctor to be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

• History and physical examination, and imaging with chest X-ray and CT scan or MRI.
• Positron emission tomography (PET)scanning is a specialized imaging technique that uses short-lived radioactive drugs to produce three-dimensional colored images of those substances in the tissues within the body, in a growing tumor.
• Bone scans are used to create images of bones on a computer screen or on film.
• Sputum cytology : The diagnosis of lung cancer requires confirmation of malignant cells by a pathologist. The simplest method to establish the diagnosis is the examination of sputum under a microscope.
• Bronchoscopy : Examination of the airways through a probe inserted through the nose or mouth may reveal areas of tumor that can be sampled (biopsied) for diagnosis by a pathologist.
• Needle biopsy : Fine needle aspiration (FNA) through the skin, most commonly performed with radiological imaging for guidance, may be useful in retrieving cells for diagnosis from tumor nodules in the lungs.
• Thoracentesis : Sometimes lung cancers lead to an accumulation of fluid in the space between the lungs and chest wall (called a pleural effusion). Aspiration of a sample of this fluid with a thin needle (thoracentesis) may reveal the cancer cells and establish diagnosis.

Treatment options for Lung cancer in India

Treatment of Lung cancer is depends on the type and stage of cancer. Lung cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these treatments. The decision about which treatments will be appropriate for a given individual must take into account the location and extent of the tumor as well as the overall health status of the patient.

Surgery for Lung Cancer Treatment

All of the lung, or just part of the lung, can be removed during surgical intervention. The most common lung cancer surgery is called a lobectomy, where a surgeon removes the tumor as well as a lobe of the lung.

Another surgery, called a segmentectomy or wedge resection, occurs when the tumor along with a small amount of the lung that surrounded the tumor is removed. When the entire lung is removed, the surgery is called apneumonectomy.

Chemoembolization

Strong chemicals are used in chemotherapy that interferes with cell division process and damages DNA or proteins. The aim of these treatments is to rapidly divide the cells. The normal cells can be recovered from any chemical-induced damage whereas cancer cells cannot be recovered. The medicines in chemotherapy travel in a systematic way by passing from the complete body and destroying the original tumor cells that have spread in the whole body. Usually many therapies are combined that also includes many types of chemotherapy.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy may be employed as a treatment for both NSCLC and SCLC. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill dividing cancer cells. Radiation therapy may be given as curative therapy, palliative therapy (using lower doses of radiation than with curative therapy), or as adjuvant therapy in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy generally only shrinks a tumor or limits its growth when given as a sole therapy, yet in 10%-15% of people it leads to long-term remission and palliation of the cancer. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy can further prolong survival when chemotherapy is administered. External radiation therapy can generally be carried out on an outpatient basis, while internal radiation therapy requires a brief hospitalization.

Targeted Therapy Lung Cancer Treatment

Recent scientific advances have brought a better understanding about specific genes and molecules in the body that is associated with the growth of certain cancers. Targeted therapies are designed to block the action or signals that tell cancer to grow. Drugs such as Iressa and Tarceva target a molecule called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) that is overproduced by non-small lung cancer cells. Another targeted therapy called Avastin is used to treat some non-small cell lung cancers. It works by cutting off the development of new blood vessels that feed the growth of cancer.