What is the best way to treat lung cancer? Three methods to effectively treat lung cancer

Radiotherapy is most effective for small cell lung cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, and the worst for adenocarcinoma. The radiation field for lung cancer radiotherapy should include the primary lesion and the mediastinum of lymph node metastasis. At the same time, it should be supplemented with drug therapy. Squamous cell carcinoma is moderately sensitive to radiation, the lesions are mainly local invasion, and the metastasis is relatively slow, so radical treatment is often used. Adenocarcinoma is less sensitive to radiation and is prone to blood metastasis, so simple radiotherapy is rarely used. Radiotherapy is a local treatment that often requires combined chemotherapy. The combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be used in a synchronous chemoradiotherapy or alternating chemoradiotherapy method depending on the patient's condition.

With environmental pollution and other factors, many people have bad living habits, especially smoking, which has led to an increasing number of lung cancer patients. Many people do not understand the treatment of lung cancer so thoroughly, and some patients do not cooperate with the doctor's treatment. Now I will introduce to you what treatment methods are available!

1. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the main treatment for lung cancer, and more than 90% of lung cancers require chemotherapy. The efficacy of chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer is relatively certain regardless of early or late stages, and even about 1% of early small cell lung cancers are cured by chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also the main means of treating non-small cell lung cancer, and the tumor remission rate of chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer is 40% to 50%. Chemotherapy generally cannot cure non-small cell lung cancer, but can only prolong the patient's survival and improve the quality of life. Chemotherapy is divided into therapeutic chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy requires the use of different chemotherapy drugs and different chemotherapy regimens according to the different histological types of lung cancer. In addition to killing tumor cells, chemotherapy also damages normal cells in the human body, so chemotherapy needs to be carried out under the guidance of an oncologist. In recent years, the role of chemotherapy in lung cancer is no longer limited to patients with advanced lung cancer who cannot undergo surgery, but is often included in the comprehensive treatment plan for lung cancer as a systemic treatment. Chemotherapy inhibits the bone marrow hematopoietic system, mainly the decrease of white blood cells and platelets, and granulocyte colony stimulating factor and platelet stimulating factor can be used for treatment. Chemotherapy is divided into therapeutic chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy.

2. Radiotherapy

1. Treatment principles

Radiotherapy is most effective for small cell lung cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, and the worst for adenocarcinoma. The radiation field for lung cancer radiotherapy should include the primary lesion and the mediastinum of lymph node metastasis. At the same time, it should be supplemented with drug therapy. Squamous cell carcinoma is moderately sensitive to radiation, the lesions are mainly local invasion, and the metastasis is relatively slow, so radical treatment is often used. Adenocarcinoma is less sensitive to radiation and is prone to blood metastasis, so simple radiotherapy is rarely used. Radiotherapy is a local treatment that often requires combined chemotherapy. The combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be used in a synchronous chemoradiotherapy or alternating chemoradiotherapy method depending on the patient's condition.

2. Classification of radiotherapy

Depending on the purpose of treatment, it is divided into radical treatment, palliative treatment, preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy, postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and intracavitary radiotherapy.

3. Complications of radiotherapy

The complications of radiotherapy for lung cancer include radiation pneumonitis, radiation esophagitis, radiation pulmonary fibrosis and radiation myelitis. The above radiotherapy-related complications are positively correlated with the radiotherapy dose, and there are also individual differences.

3. Surgical treatment of lung cancer

Surgery is the first and main treatment for lung cancer, and it is also the only treatment that can cure lung cancer. The purpose of surgical treatment for lung cancer is:

Completely remove the primary lesion of lung cancer and metastatic lymph nodes to achieve clinical cure;

Removing the vast majority of the tumor to create favorable conditions for other treatments is called cytoreductive surgery;

Reduction surgery: Suitable for a small number of patients, such as those with refractory pleural and pericardial effusions. By removing pleural and pericardial implant nodules, removing part of the pericardium and pleura, the clinical symptoms caused by pericardial and pleural effusions can be cured or alleviated, and life can be prolonged or the quality of life can be improved. Reduction surgery requires local and systemic chemotherapy at the same time. Surgical treatment often requires adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy before or after surgery to improve the cure rate of surgery and the survival rate of patients. The five-year survival rate of surgical treatment of lung cancer is 30% to 44%; the mortality rate of surgical treatment is 1% to 2%.

Lung cancer surgery generally requires surgical treatment. Patients must be mentally prepared, and family members must do a good job of psychological work for the patient, trust the doctor's treatment measures, and do a good job of daily care. This will effectively control the disease and alleviate the patient's pain.