What principles should be followed to treat lung cancer? Three major principles to know for treating lung cancer

As the saying goes, special situations require special treatments, and the treatment of lung cancer also needs to follow this concept. Targeted treatment is often taken according to the cause and condition of the disease. Only in this way can the treatment effect be achieved. So, for a special disease like lung cancer, what principles do we need to follow to treat it? Let's learn about it together.

1: The treatment method is determined based on the tumor stage and pathological type.

The principle of lung cancer treatment is to determine the treatment method based on the stage. For patients with stage 1 to 3a non-small cell lung cancer, if their general physical condition is good, they should try to have surgery if possible, because surgical treatment is the most effective way to cure early lung cancer. Surgery can also correctly determine the next postoperative adjuvant treatment based on the stage. If the cancer is still small and there is no sign of metastasis, it may be enough to remove the lobe where the cancer is located (the lung has five lobes, two on the left and three on the right), otherwise one side of the lung needs to be removed. For cancers that are too large and have metastasized, doctors usually do not consider surgery. Auxiliary therapies that cannot be treated surgically include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, etc. The treatment of small cell lung cancer is mainly based on radiotherapy and chemotherapy, especially chemotherapy, and surgery is not the only main treatment method.

When to choose radiotherapy

1. Radiotherapy is similar to surgical operation and is also a regional local treatment method.

2. Radiotherapy mainly focuses on local symptom control, including hemoptysis or local lung lobe collapse caused by tumors, as well as prevention and control of local recurrence after surgery.

3. It can be used in combination with chemotherapy to enhance the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer, or to provide palliative treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer.

4. Routinely, the patient should be exposed once a day, five times a week, and rest for two days. During this period, blood counts should be checked regularly.

5. Patients can receive treatment as outpatients or inpatients.

6. The latest development of Ripoda treatment. Commonly used methods include conventional radiotherapy, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, and emphasis radiotherapy. The most advanced one is proton radiotherapy, which has not yet been widely used in China.

When to choose chemotherapy

1. It has a significant effect on the treatment of small cell lung cancer. The short-term effect is good, but it is easy to relapse and metastasize, and the long-term effect is poor.

2. In non-small cell lung cancer, it is generally used alone or in combination with radiation therapy, mostly for advanced cancer that cannot be surgically removed, or as an adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery.

3. If the patient's physical condition is good, chemotherapy should be considered. If the patient's physical condition is poor, the best supportive care, including palliative radiotherapy, should be considered.

4. Chemotherapy mainly focuses on controlling systemic cancer cells. As for radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which one should be given first or whether they should be performed alternately depends on the clinical situation.