March 15th, 2010
Radiation therapy uses high energy X-radiation to destroy cancer cells. It uses a device called a linear accelerator that sends rays to the affected area only.
This lung cancer treatment is used sometimes as a primary or principal in patients who can not undergo surgery. In this case, is not to cure but slow the progression of the disease, although some exceptional cases come to heal without surgery, radiation therapy alone.
Radiation therapy to the lung is often used to relieve an airway obstruction leading to cancer.
When radiotherapy is used as a secondary treatment after surgery is primarily used to destroy cells that have not been removed.
Another use for which radiotherapy is used to relieve cancer-causing symptoms such as pain, difficulty swallowing, and so on.
Tags: cancer cells, Lung cancer, radiation therapy, Radiation Therapy For Lung Cancer, Radiation therapy to the lung, radiotherapy, Treatments Of Lung Cancer
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March 13th, 2010
Treatment for these patients consist of a combination of several techniques that are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Each of them will be more effective than the other depending on the type of cancer and the stage where they are. In fact, treatment depends on four factors: the type and extent of spread of the tumor, the patient’s health status and functional status of the various body systems (heart, liver, kidney, neurological, etc.)..
Lung cancer surgery is the treatment modality most likely to be curative, therefore, is resorted to if all of the cancer can not be removed and respiratory status of the patient to tolerate the removal of the portion of lung to be removed.
Small cell lung cancers are very rarely operate, since it is almost always diagnosed extensive stage when only limited is operable. Approximately half of non-small lung cancers can be removed due to its extension. It is therefore essential that there are no lymph metastasis and central area of the chest (mediastinum) are free of tumor and the tumor has not invaded ineradicable structures as the trachea, the aorta or the pleura.
You can remove only a small portion of the lung, if the tumor is very localized, to be called wedge resection or segmentectomy.
If you removed a lobe of the lung is called lobectomy.
If you remove the entire lung, it is called pneumonectomy.
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Tags: chemotherapy, lobectomy, lung cancer surgery, non-small lung cancers, pneumonectomy, radiotherapy, segmentectomy, Small cell lung cancers, Treatments Of Lung Cancer
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March 12th, 2010
- Chest radiograph with which you can see any mass or spot on the lungs and reasonably set the probability of being a cancer. This test is performed in two projections, one front and one in profile. For more than 95% of cancer cases their results are abnormal.
- TAC: It consists of an X-ray emission from different perspectives and with that seen throughout the body. It is a simple test which usually lasts more than 15-30 minutes. This is more sensitive than radiography and it detects more early-stage cancer. It also serves to check for metastasis to other organs: liver, adrenal glands, brain and so on. It is the most widely used imaging test and profitable in the study of this disease. However, sometimes required to complete the study of CT with other more sensitive tests for specific sites of lung cancer: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain or spine, liver ultrasound, bone scan and so on.
- Magnetic resonance imaging is used to make detailed cross-sectional images. This technique uses magnetic fields and spectra emitted by phosphorus in body tissues and becomes the image. With it you can see the tumor vasculature. They are more accurate images with which one can observe the spread of cancer to the brain or spinal cord. It is often not too useful for exploring the lungs.
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Tags: Detect Lung Cancer, diagnosis of lung cancer, Diagnostic Of Lung Cancer, Mediastinoscopy, specific sites of lung cancer, Test to Detect Lung Cancer, X-ray emission
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March 11th, 2010
Only 15% of lung cancer is diagnosed in early stages, this is because the symptoms do not appear until the disease is advanced. If no lymph node involvement at the time of surgery, the survival rate five years is 50%. Considering all cases globally, the survival rate is reduced to 14%.
There are various diagnostic tests that visualize the lung tumors at different stages.
The doctor will use a method to detect cancer if there is prior suspicion. The patient’s medical history is the first to be conducted to assess personal and family history. The doctor will ask about the existence of cancer and other diseases in the family, snuff consumption, environmental or occupational exposure to substances that produce lung cancer and respiratory disease or any other suffering the ill.
The physical examination will take into account the symptoms that the patient concerned, and with it, it can obtain data that can help diagnose any disease.
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Tags: Diagnostic Of Lung Cancer, Lung cancer, lung tumors at different stages, lymph node, method to detect cancer
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March 10th, 2010
The symptoms of lung cancer does not usually appear in the early stages of lung cancer but arise when it has already spread too much to increase the chance of cure. In fact, since that occurs the first malignant cell until a person consult a doctor first before symptoms of the disease can take many years.
Among the most common symptoms are:
- Persistent cough.
- Chest pain that increases with breathing.
- Loss of weight and appetite.
- Shortness of breath.
- Wheezing or whistling.
- Spitting up blood or redness (mucus).
Tags: Lung cancer, malignant cell, stages of lung cancer, Symptoms Of Lung Cancer
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March 9th, 2010
Lung cancer accounts for 13.4% of new cancer casesand is the most common cause of cancer mortality, is the most common in the developed world. In Spain, lung cancer is the cause of death of 8.3% of the Spanish (1 in 12 men die from lung cancer in Spain) and 1.3% of women. More people die due to lung cancer than breast cancer, colon and prostate cancers combined. Specifically in our country are diagnosed 19,000 new cases of lung cancer each year.
The number of men who die of this cancer are declining in North America because there are more quitters.
The American woman has grown since 1950, mortality for this cancer, by 550%. This proportion is lower in Spain because she belatedly started smoking more generally.
In the UK and the U.S., lung cancer causes more deaths than breast cancer since 1987. In North America, 150,000 women die each year from diseases related to snuff, of these 41,000, die from lung cancer and 10,000 for other cancers. This year there will be about 169,000 new cases of lung cancer deaths.
The survival rate at one year (time during which no disease) in 1995, is 41%. This percentage fell to 14% when it comes to five-year survival. This rate increases to 42% if the cancer is detected early.
90% of people with this disease are smokers, while only 5-10% of smokers with cancer, your chances of developing the disease are fifteen times higher than in nonsmokers.
Tags: cases of lung cancer, common cause of cancer mortality, Lung cancer, lung cancer is the cause of death, new cancer cases, Statistic Of Lung Cancer
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March 8th, 2010
The classification of small cell lung tumors is much simpler. In this type of cancer is spoken of limited stage and extensive stage.
The limited stage means that the tumor is confined to the hemithorax of origin, the mediastinum and supraclavicular nodes. This would be tolerable in the employment field of radiotherapy.
The extended period is one in which the cancer is too widespread to be included within the definition of limited stage, ie the cancer has spread to other lung, to lymph nodes in the other breast to distant organs, and so on.
Patients with limited stage of cancer may be effectively treated with radiation therapy. In those with extensive stage is not as applicable radiotherapy.
Tags: classification of small cell lung tumors, Lung cancer, radiation therapy, Small Cell Lung Cancer, Staging of Small Cell Lung Cancer, type of cancer
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March 6th, 2010
The non-small lung cancers are classified into several stages or phases following a fairly complex system known by the acronym TNM. The staging of the tumor is very important because it can, first, to distinguish patients cured of which are not and, secondly, to calculate the probability of being cured.
The T refers to tumor size. It is classified between T1 and T4, as the more bulky tumor affecting nearby structures or important as the main bronchi, arteries, or the heart itself.
The N indicates whether or not they affected the nearby lymph nodes. N0 means that they are not. The lymph node involvement is an important prognostic factor that graduates from N1 to N3. In particular it is vital to know whether or not invaded most central nodes of the thorax, a region known as the mediastinum. In general, involvement of the mediastinum means the tumor is inoperable.
M indicates if no metastasis (M0) or, conversely, if the cancer has already branched out to distant organs (M1).
Tags: cancer, non-small lung cancers, Stage Of Non-small Lung Cancer, staging of the tumor
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March 5th, 2010
Lung cancer is classified by the type of cell that produces the tumor. 90% are small cell or non-small cell. The remaining 10% is composed of very rare types such as mixed carcinoid or neuroendocrine tumors.
Furthermore, the lung is a very frequent metastasis. But these are not true tumors of the lung, but plantings of cancers of other organs, such as the breast or intestine.
Small Lung Cancer Cell (microcytic)
It is named after the cell size view microscope. It is almost invariably associated with smoking and it is estimated that about 20% of all cancers are small cell. They multiply rapidly and can form large tumors, plus their ability to spread to other organs is increased. The small cell is almost always a very aggressive tumor.
Metastases tend to affect the following organs: lymph nodes, bone, brain, adrenal glands and liver. The primary tumor usually originates near the bronchi and spreads into the center of the lungs.
Non-small Lung Cancer Cell
This cancer accounts for almost 80% of all lung cancers. It spreads more slowly than small cell and occasionally may occur in nonsmokers.
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Tags: Lung cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, Non-small Lung Cancer Cell, Small Lung Cancer Cell, tumors of the lung, Types Of Lung Cancer
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March 4th, 2010
Nicotine potentiates the carcinogenic effect of other substances from smoke snuff and the effects of carcinogens in the environment.
Nicotine acts on the mechanism of apoptosis, or cell death, preventing the cells to commit suicide. When it comes to cancer cells does the same thing which causes or encourages the formation of lung cancer.
In addition to snuff, there are other substances mentioned above which are listed now:
Asbestos: people who work with asbestos are seven times more likely to develop cancer than those who do not maintain contact with it. These people have a type of cancer called mesothelioma, which occurs in the pleura. In recent years, governments have banned the use of this material for commercial and industrial products. When combined with asbestos exposure to smoking, it increases their chances of getting cancer from 50 to 90 times.
Cancer-causing agents in the workplace: an occupational risk group are the miners. They work with materials that, when inhaled, can damage your lungs. Such substances are radioactive minerals such as uranium, and workers exposed to chemicals such as arsenic, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal based products, mustard gas and chloromethyl ethers. People working in these conditions should be careful to avoid exposure to these agents.
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Tags: asbestos exposure, cancer cells, effects of carcinogens, formation of lung cancer, growth of cancer cells, Lung cancer, mesothelioma, Nicotine, Risk Factors of Lung Cancer
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