Pulmonary oncology annually takes the lives of tens of thousands of Russians, with the prevalent number of cases of this cancer accounted for by the male population. The most susceptible to lung cancer are smoking men, as well as workers in harmful industries.
In general, pulmonary cancer is divided into small-cell and non-small-cell histological form. Approximately 80% of pulmonary oncologies are non-small cell tumors.
What is non-small cell lung cancer?
A non-small cell lung tumor is called malignant formation, formed from tissues of epithelial origin.
Multiple disturbances in DNA cause changes in the structure and functions of cells, which leads to uncontrolled and disordered cell division. Pathology is usually diagnosed at stages when the tumor processes are at the stage of active development, which greatly complicates the treatment of pulmonary non-small cell cancer.
Types of
Specialists distinguish several characteristic varieties of non-small cell oncology, each of which is characterized by individual clinical features.
There are several basic types of such formations:
- Large cell lung carcinoma - can occur in any part of the body. It is characterized by more accelerated growth, development and metastasis than other non-small cell formations. Under a microscope, it is found that such a tumor consists of rounded cellular structures. Large cell carcinoma accounts for about 11-15% of pulmonary oncology;
- Adenocarcinoma - a similar tumor is found in 40% of lung cancer patients. This form of non-small-cell carcinoma most often develops against the backdrop of long-term smoking. Education gradually grows in the cellular structures responsible for the production of mucous secretions. This type of non-small cell tumors develops in the glandular tissues and affects the outer region of the organ;
- Epidermoid carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. It is found in a quarter of cases of all pulmonary oncology. Forms a form of non-small cell tumor from the cellular structures that line the inner side of the respiratory tract.
Unfortunately, specialists can not always determine in due time the type of pulmonary tumor lesion. Then the diagnosis is voiced as undifferentiated cancer. But such a factor does not affect the quality of therapy.
Symptoms of
Non-small cell forms of cancer are characterized by a special staging and specific manifestations that distinguish them from other types of oncology. The earliest specific manifestation of non-small-celled cancer is coughing. Initially, such a sign is dry and unproductive, but over time it becomes protracted.
Specialists explain the occurrence of such a symptomatic development of education in the bronchi or external pressure of the tumor on the bronchial structures. Cough supernumerary attacks appear more often, exhausting the patient. With the development of oncology, cough becomes productive, accompanied by purulent or mucous discharge.
In addition to cough, non-small cell forms of cancer are accompanied by other typical symptoms.
- Painful symptomatology in the thoracic region. There is such a sign due to compression of mediastinal structures, pleural effusion or penetration of abnormal cells into nerve tissues. Pain symptomatology can be sharp and periodic, occurring paroxysmally or constantly disturbing aching sensations.
- Expectoration of blood. Such manifestations take place in almost half of cancer patients with a similar diagnosis. Determine the presence of hemoptysis can be by bloody clots or small veins in the sputum separated from the cough. In a neglected state, sputum gets a bloody foamy structure.
- Manifestations of dyspnea. This symptom occurs due to abnormal narrowing of the bronchial lumen, the appearance of fluid in the pleura, problems with pulmonary ventilation, or the spread of cancer to the lymph nodes located in the chest zone.
This symptom occurs primarily during the performance of any physical activity, walking or other motor activity. With the growth of education, dyspnoea is worried more and more, acquiring a permanent character. Often when wheezing, outsiders whistling sounds are clearly audible.
- Hyperthermal signs. This symptom is of an unstable nature, because it can be temporary. Usually the appearance of elevated temperature values takes place with pulmonary decay accompanied by inflammatory processes.
Patients are often concerned about swelling of the cervical and facial tissues, difficulty in swallowing, hoarseness in the voice, bone pain, etc. In the later stages of non-small cell cancers, general symptoms of intoxication of the body such as weight loss, exhaustion, exhaustion, etc. arise.
Reasons for
The main causative factorNon-small cell cancers in the lungs are smoking.
Tobacco smoke is composed of many dangerous carcinogenic compounds, which provoke oncological processes in the lung tissue.
The likelihood of oncology increases if the smoker has an impressive experience of nicotine addiction and within a day he smokes more than 1.5 packs of cigarettes.
Less often, this pathology develops due to employment in harmful chemical, metallurgical and other industries. In other words, at times non-small cell lung cancer can be of professional origin. The polluted atmosphere in the industrialized regions also plays an important role in the process of cancer formation.
Stages of
In the development of non-small cell cancers, several consecutive stages are distinguished:
- The initial stage is characterized by a single localized formation of small sizes, localized in only one organ, cancer cells do not spread to the lymph nodes;
- Education in the 2nd stage becomes more aggressive, because oncology processes begin to move towards closely located lymph nodes;
- The third stage of non-small cell lung cancer is characterized by spreading to the lymph nodes and surrounding tissues;
- Stage 4 is considered terminal and incurable, the tumor is found in both lungs, gives extensive intraorganic metastases.
Diagnostics
Diagnostic methods of this type of cancer involve the use of procedures such as:
- Blood test;
- MRI;
- Bronchoscopy;
- Radiography;
- Biopsy;
- CT;
- Thoracoscopy;
- Cytology of sputum to be separated;
- Mediastinoscopy;
- PET or positron emission tomography, etc.
Modern approaches to immunohistochemical diagnosis of lung cancer, in this video:
Treatment of
The approach to anticancer therapy is conditioned by the stage and type of non-small cell cancer. Since the bulk of patients in the diagnosis has already neglected forms of cancer, the predictions are often negative.
Although in 3 stages it is quite possible to significantly slow the progression of the tumor or completely stop the further development of the cancer process.
In general, the treatment is based on several approaches: chemotherapeutic, radiotherapeutic and operative.
The chemotherapeutic approach is irreplaceable for inoperability of the tumor, significantly reduces the symptomatic manifestations of the oncoprocess, prolonging the patients life. With a similar effect, drugs that destroy malignant cellular structures are used.
Topical antitumor drugs today are: Tactoser, Avastin, Paclitaxel, Iressa, Tarceva, Mitotax, Cytohem, etc.
Radiotherapy helps to reduce the formation, eliminates pain syndrome, and is indispensable for the relief of symptoms in palliative therapy. Often, radiotherapy is performed in combination with chemotherapy, which only increases the effectiveness of both methods. Quite often, such treatment is resorted to when the patient refuses surgery or his tumor is inoperable.
Prognosis and prevention of
It is rather difficult to predict non-small cell lung cancer, because the picture and results of treatment are determined by the stage at which oncology was diagnosed.
Statistics show that more than half of the cancer patients get to the doctors when the cancer reaches the late stages of development, therefore, the 5-year period does not live more than 17%.
If nevertheless it was possible to detect early pulmonary cancer in the early stages( 1-2), then the percentage of survivors rises to almost 50%.
Video on the treatment of patients with stage 3 NSCLC: