Obatoclax Small Cell Lung Cancer
Published on Jun 10 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Targeted therapies are probably the most dynamic area of lung cancer treatments with many clinical trials being done testing and using the as adjuvant treatment. These therapies commonly use drugs aimed at having particular effects on the tumor such as killing cancerous cells or boosting the immune system and many others.
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Obatoclax mesilate is a small molecule that has been shown through preclinical studies to induce apoptosis (the process of programmed cell death) in many cancer cell lines alone or in combination with other drugs. Since recently it has been introduced in many clinical trials but conclusive results are still not available yet, though early results indicate antitumor activity from its part. At present, it is in phase 2 clinical development and relevant results have been promised before the end of 2010.
Targeted cancer therapies are being developed in many biopharmaceutical companies such as Gemin X Pharmaceuticals. This company has begun to direct most of its attention and funds to developing obatoclax treatment. Patients have also heard about its potential to treat small cell lung cancer so enrolling people in a Phase 2 clinical trial of obatoclax turned into a serious competition. This lead product candidate is therefore as you are reading this, tested on patients suffering from advanced-stage small cell lung cancer. The number of patients enrolled in clinical trials initiated by this company rises to 165 patients, a number achieved faster than the company had planned and has surpassed the target of 154 participants.
The trials are mainly aimed at evaluating the efficiency as well as the risks involved with using Obatoclax. This is administered in combination with standard chemotherapy and patients are being continuously monitored and tested to ensure it's safe and to regulate dosage depending on its impact on the tumor.
The commonly administered combination which includes obatoclax also includes carboplatin and etoposide, also called the CEO regimen. This is compared with treatment consisting in etoposide and carboplatin alone and physicians are looking at differences in response and in six-month rate of survival, progression free. Patients are also checked for safety reasons and overall survival is being reported on intensely to lead to a final conclusion and maybe to then get it approved and finally accessible to all patients with small cell lung cancer.
Due to encouraging preclinical results, specialists expect this new treatment including obatoclax to offer patients great benefits in treatment efficiency, in response to treatment, survival rates and tolerance levels. The earlier Phase 1b trial proved a good safety profile for the drug but also increased positive effects from the overall treatment. Obatoclax is still a considerable way from being approved and used in all cases that allow or are in need of it but progress is being done every day and clinical trials might even develop better and more effective versions of the drug.
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Obatoclax mesilate is a small molecule that has been shown through preclinical studies to induce apoptosis (the process of programmed cell death) in many cancer cell lines alone or in combination with other drugs. Since recently it has been introduced in many clinical trials but conclusive results are still not available yet, though early results indicate antitumor activity from its part. At present, it is in phase 2 clinical development and relevant results have been promised before the end of 2010.
Targeted cancer therapies are being developed in many biopharmaceutical companies such as Gemin X Pharmaceuticals. This company has begun to direct most of its attention and funds to developing obatoclax treatment. Patients have also heard about its potential to treat small cell lung cancer so enrolling people in a Phase 2 clinical trial of obatoclax turned into a serious competition. This lead product candidate is therefore as you are reading this, tested on patients suffering from advanced-stage small cell lung cancer. The number of patients enrolled in clinical trials initiated by this company rises to 165 patients, a number achieved faster than the company had planned and has surpassed the target of 154 participants.
The trials are mainly aimed at evaluating the efficiency as well as the risks involved with using Obatoclax. This is administered in combination with standard chemotherapy and patients are being continuously monitored and tested to ensure it's safe and to regulate dosage depending on its impact on the tumor.
The commonly administered combination which includes obatoclax also includes carboplatin and etoposide, also called the CEO regimen. This is compared with treatment consisting in etoposide and carboplatin alone and physicians are looking at differences in response and in six-month rate of survival, progression free. Patients are also checked for safety reasons and overall survival is being reported on intensely to lead to a final conclusion and maybe to then get it approved and finally accessible to all patients with small cell lung cancer.
Due to encouraging preclinical results, specialists expect this new treatment including obatoclax to offer patients great benefits in treatment efficiency, in response to treatment, survival rates and tolerance levels. The earlier Phase 1b trial proved a good safety profile for the drug but also increased positive effects from the overall treatment. Obatoclax is still a considerable way from being approved and used in all cases that allow or are in need of it but progress is being done every day and clinical trials might even develop better and more effective versions of the drug.
Cancer Lung Hodgkins Lymphoma
Published on Jun 05 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease, Statistics
Lung cancer can many times spread to lymph nodes or bone marrow in an advanced stage. This is not what lymphoma cancers are. Lymphoma cancers start the other way round, they begin in a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, important components of the immune system, and then reach and settle in other organs, like the lung.
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There are two types of lymphomas: Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodkin lymphoma and they both area malignant and manifest themselves through similar symptoms. The difference between them is considerable nonetheless and can be established through biopsy or aspiration of tissue from the tumor.
Hodgkin's disease is less common than the other as it accounts for no more than 1% of all cancers in USA, and its incidence is still declining.
This cancer of the blood, originating in lymphocytes that can be found in lymph nodes, the spleen and the bone marrow, can at present offer considerable chances for a cure. Outstanding progress in chemotherapy and radiotherapy has done a great job in eliminating this cancer. However, recent study shows that undergoing such treatments imply a risk of developing a second malignant disease. Systematic reviews of studies and research conducted in the last years have revealed a risk of lung cancer in patients treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma. This has been proven in many cases documented since 1985 in England and focused on long-term side-effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy have earned a notorious reputation along the years but usually they are related with nausea, hair-loss, vomiting, fatigue but many failed to consider the highly ironical possibility that they could generate a new cancer in the body. Unfortunately this can be the case for lung cancer derived from treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The link between the two is today beyond the shadow of a doubt but at least now that we know about it we can take measures to prevent it. Ask your doctor about the risks of chemo and radiotherapy and constantly monitor the rest of your body even if you are treating a limited tumor.
Let's return to the vast research that has linked treatment for lymphoma with lung cancer. What this treatment does is increase the risk of patients undergoing it to develop lung cancer. Numbers tell us that the risk is much higher and that it increases with time if treatment is prolonged but it also can extend beyond the duration of the treatment and is significantly higher in patients over 45. If the patient is also a smoker his chances for survival drop dramatically and research referring to a group of people considered to be in a high-risk category show that out of 1000 people 50-150 people will develop lung cancer 10-20 years after being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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There are two types of lymphomas: Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodkin lymphoma and they both area malignant and manifest themselves through similar symptoms. The difference between them is considerable nonetheless and can be established through biopsy or aspiration of tissue from the tumor.
Hodgkin's disease is less common than the other as it accounts for no more than 1% of all cancers in USA, and its incidence is still declining.
This cancer of the blood, originating in lymphocytes that can be found in lymph nodes, the spleen and the bone marrow, can at present offer considerable chances for a cure. Outstanding progress in chemotherapy and radiotherapy has done a great job in eliminating this cancer. However, recent study shows that undergoing such treatments imply a risk of developing a second malignant disease. Systematic reviews of studies and research conducted in the last years have revealed a risk of lung cancer in patients treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma. This has been proven in many cases documented since 1985 in England and focused on long-term side-effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy have earned a notorious reputation along the years but usually they are related with nausea, hair-loss, vomiting, fatigue but many failed to consider the highly ironical possibility that they could generate a new cancer in the body. Unfortunately this can be the case for lung cancer derived from treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The link between the two is today beyond the shadow of a doubt but at least now that we know about it we can take measures to prevent it. Ask your doctor about the risks of chemo and radiotherapy and constantly monitor the rest of your body even if you are treating a limited tumor.
Let's return to the vast research that has linked treatment for lymphoma with lung cancer. What this treatment does is increase the risk of patients undergoing it to develop lung cancer. Numbers tell us that the risk is much higher and that it increases with time if treatment is prolonged but it also can extend beyond the duration of the treatment and is significantly higher in patients over 45. If the patient is also a smoker his chances for survival drop dramatically and research referring to a group of people considered to be in a high-risk category show that out of 1000 people 50-150 people will develop lung cancer 10-20 years after being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
How Does Lung Cancer Start
Published on Jun 04 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Lung cancer begins without you having to know a thing. The fact that it is so silent makes it such a big threat and the deadliest form of cancer there is. By not showing any early symptoms lung cancer prevents patients from detecting it on time and benefiting from higher chances for a cure. The cancer begins once normal cells in the lung start to mutate, to present abnormalities and to grow out of control. Such changes in the cells can occur anywhere in the respiratory tract.
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All you can do to prevent the cancer is to be aware of the risk factors that can lead to it and, if you are dedicated smoker, to monitor all changes in your cough. Any slight change in your cough may mean that cancerous cells are forming inside your lungs and you should immediately schedule yourself for an x-ray.
Let's take a look at some of the other risk factors involved and which can add up to very high chances of developing lung cancer. These include besides smoking: exposure to pollution, exposure to arsenic, radiation or asbestos, a family history of lung cancer, a medical history of other respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis and some others that the doctor can better point out for each individual case.
Early symptoms, if any, can include: chronic cough, changes in your cough, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, wheezing, pain in the back, chest pain, pain in the arms and shoulders all of which should send you directly to your oncologist and undergo several tests he considers necessary to diagnose your condition. These are all the early signs you'll get and if you're lucky they can come along earlier than in most cases. Usually they don't surface before the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body making the cancer inoperable. Unfortunately not too rarely, a person can be diagnosed with cancer one day and be given just a few month of life expectancy from the moment of diagnosis. These are tragical cases that raise an alarm about how much more involved we should be in living a healthy life and going through regular medical checks.
If diagnosed early and treated with surgery, lung cancer can be 100% curable. Even if the cancer is too far along to be operated on treatment options are still available to alleviate symptoms or even to completely cure the cancer. These can improve the quality of life and acting together, they can lead to a complete cure and prevent any relapse. These treatments include chemotherapy and radiation therapy which can act to kill cancer cells or to offer new chances for surgery. They can shrink the tumor or eliminate it completely though there are some side-effects implied.
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All you can do to prevent the cancer is to be aware of the risk factors that can lead to it and, if you are dedicated smoker, to monitor all changes in your cough. Any slight change in your cough may mean that cancerous cells are forming inside your lungs and you should immediately schedule yourself for an x-ray.
Let's take a look at some of the other risk factors involved and which can add up to very high chances of developing lung cancer. These include besides smoking: exposure to pollution, exposure to arsenic, radiation or asbestos, a family history of lung cancer, a medical history of other respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis and some others that the doctor can better point out for each individual case.
Early symptoms, if any, can include: chronic cough, changes in your cough, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, wheezing, pain in the back, chest pain, pain in the arms and shoulders all of which should send you directly to your oncologist and undergo several tests he considers necessary to diagnose your condition. These are all the early signs you'll get and if you're lucky they can come along earlier than in most cases. Usually they don't surface before the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body making the cancer inoperable. Unfortunately not too rarely, a person can be diagnosed with cancer one day and be given just a few month of life expectancy from the moment of diagnosis. These are tragical cases that raise an alarm about how much more involved we should be in living a healthy life and going through regular medical checks.
If diagnosed early and treated with surgery, lung cancer can be 100% curable. Even if the cancer is too far along to be operated on treatment options are still available to alleviate symptoms or even to completely cure the cancer. These can improve the quality of life and acting together, they can lead to a complete cure and prevent any relapse. These treatments include chemotherapy and radiation therapy which can act to kill cancer cells or to offer new chances for surgery. They can shrink the tumor or eliminate it completely though there are some side-effects implied.
Stage 3A Lung Cancer
Published on May 27 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in USA and also worldwide 1,3 million people are diagnosed with this disease every year.
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The most important thing you can do is try to prevent it by living a healthy lifestyle, by not smoking and by consulting an oncologist at the slightest possible symptom or just if you fit the profile of people susceptible of developing the disease.
The most important step after diagnosis is further testing to accurately establish the stage of the cancer. The treatment almost entirely depends on diagnosing the exact stage of the cancer.
60% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer are in an advanced stage, when treatment offers very little chances for a cure. Let's take a look at a less frequently diagnosed stage of development. 10% of people diagnosed with lung cancer are caught in stage 3A non-small cell lung cancer, also called a locally advanced cancer. That is to say that at this stage the cancer is in an intermediate stage. More concretely, the tumor has spread to lymph nodes on the same side as the tumor but not to any distant regions of the body. Even so, it is actually difficult to pinpoint symptoms for this stage as it includes a wide spectrum of cancers. You are most likely to experience symptoms which include persistent cough, shortness of breath, pneumonia, bronchitis. If the cancer reaches the chest wall and diaphragm you can also experience chest pain, pain in the ribs, shoulders and in the back and if it is located near the airways hemoptysis and hoarseness can occur.
Once detected through x-ray or biopsy, treatment for stage 3A lung cancer is much more difficult to decide on, this being due to the same wide spectrum of cancers this stage includes. Most oncologists recommend patients with this stage of cancer to apply for clinical trials as they are considered to be the most suitable candidates for trials. This is also because of the poor survival rate at this stage, the 5-year survival rate being at 23%.
Surgery can also be a valid option for treatment if accompanied by adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy before surgery has also been proven to be effective in increasing survival rates. If the cancer is considered inoperable doctors can still combine chemotherapy and radiotherapy and if also chemo is intolerable for the patient, radiotherapy still stands as a method of treating the cancer.
This being the most varied form of lung cancer, stage 3A cancer you can look at it as offering a great variety of option for treatment and you certainly have no reason to call your recovery a lost cause. Make sure you keep informed on clinical trials and recent developments and don't forget to seek help and support from family and friends in your struggle.
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The most important thing you can do is try to prevent it by living a healthy lifestyle, by not smoking and by consulting an oncologist at the slightest possible symptom or just if you fit the profile of people susceptible of developing the disease.
The most important step after diagnosis is further testing to accurately establish the stage of the cancer. The treatment almost entirely depends on diagnosing the exact stage of the cancer.
60% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer are in an advanced stage, when treatment offers very little chances for a cure. Let's take a look at a less frequently diagnosed stage of development. 10% of people diagnosed with lung cancer are caught in stage 3A non-small cell lung cancer, also called a locally advanced cancer. That is to say that at this stage the cancer is in an intermediate stage. More concretely, the tumor has spread to lymph nodes on the same side as the tumor but not to any distant regions of the body. Even so, it is actually difficult to pinpoint symptoms for this stage as it includes a wide spectrum of cancers. You are most likely to experience symptoms which include persistent cough, shortness of breath, pneumonia, bronchitis. If the cancer reaches the chest wall and diaphragm you can also experience chest pain, pain in the ribs, shoulders and in the back and if it is located near the airways hemoptysis and hoarseness can occur.
Once detected through x-ray or biopsy, treatment for stage 3A lung cancer is much more difficult to decide on, this being due to the same wide spectrum of cancers this stage includes. Most oncologists recommend patients with this stage of cancer to apply for clinical trials as they are considered to be the most suitable candidates for trials. This is also because of the poor survival rate at this stage, the 5-year survival rate being at 23%.
Surgery can also be a valid option for treatment if accompanied by adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy before surgery has also been proven to be effective in increasing survival rates. If the cancer is considered inoperable doctors can still combine chemotherapy and radiotherapy and if also chemo is intolerable for the patient, radiotherapy still stands as a method of treating the cancer.
This being the most varied form of lung cancer, stage 3A cancer you can look at it as offering a great variety of option for treatment and you certainly have no reason to call your recovery a lost cause. Make sure you keep informed on clinical trials and recent developments and don't forget to seek help and support from family and friends in your struggle.
Methotrexate And Lung Cancer
Published on May 15 2010, in the categories: lung cancer, Stages of disease
<p><strong>Methotrexate </strong>(rINN), found in medical prescriptions as MTX and formerly known as amethopterin, is an antifoliat drug used to treat cancer. It acts like an antimetabolit and it is also used to assist in abortions and auto immune diseases. Though formerly known as amethopterin the two shouldn't be confused. If amethopterin was an aggressive, powerful and toxic antifoliate, <strong>methotrexate</strong> is a milder version, less harmful and at least just as efficient. Brand names for the product include: Rheumatrex Dose Pack, Trexall, Folex PFS, Methotrexate Sodium and Preservative Free. You can find it in many forms, tablets and injectable.
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<p>In <strong>lung cancer</strong> this drug can be used as a component for chemotherapy. Possible side-effects include: anemia, neutropenia, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, dermatisis, diarrhea and there's also a risk of developing hepatitis and pulmonary fibrosis. As cancer treatments implies increased doses of the medicine, methotrexate often used in chemotherapy can cause toxic effects disrupting the rapidly-dividing cells of bone marrow and gastrointestinal mucosa. For more information about the risks you are exposing yourself to and the benefits this treatment can ensure you should seek the opinion of an oncologist. Enough to say here that many risks are involved and you need to be very well prepared physically as well as mentally.
How does it act on the <strong>cancer</strong>?
This antifoliate interferes with the growth of cancer cells as those reproduce quickly. It can also damage other cells with the same property, such as bone marrow cells and skin cells.</p>
<p>Methotrexate interferes with the growth of certain cells of the body, especially cells that reproduce quickly, such as <strong>cancer</strong> cells, bone marrow cells, and skin cells.
<p>How do you administer it?
<p>The correct dose of methotrexate for your condition must be precisely determined by the oncologist. It is generally taken once or twice a week. Cases of death have occurred due to increased doses administered by mistake. In order to minimize the potentially harmful effects related to methotrexate you should test your blood on a regular basis. To be on the safe side you should also test your kidney and liver function. Be very serious about the whole process and by no mean miss a scheduled appointment.
<p>What should you avoid doing while you're on the medicine?
<p>This type of chemotherapy can be very dangerous in other combinations. For example, you should make sure you avoid use of alcohol in any form during the treatment. This can be very harmful to your health and can also disrupt the course of the treatment. Also avoid exposure to sunlight and UV rays as <strong>Methotrexate</strong> makes your skin more sensitive. Another thing you should keep in mind is that the older you are the more and more vulnerable you become.
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<p>In <strong>lung cancer</strong> this drug can be used as a component for chemotherapy. Possible side-effects include: anemia, neutropenia, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, dermatisis, diarrhea and there's also a risk of developing hepatitis and pulmonary fibrosis. As cancer treatments implies increased doses of the medicine, methotrexate often used in chemotherapy can cause toxic effects disrupting the rapidly-dividing cells of bone marrow and gastrointestinal mucosa. For more information about the risks you are exposing yourself to and the benefits this treatment can ensure you should seek the opinion of an oncologist. Enough to say here that many risks are involved and you need to be very well prepared physically as well as mentally.
How does it act on the <strong>cancer</strong>?
This antifoliate interferes with the growth of cancer cells as those reproduce quickly. It can also damage other cells with the same property, such as bone marrow cells and skin cells.</p>
<p>Methotrexate interferes with the growth of certain cells of the body, especially cells that reproduce quickly, such as <strong>cancer</strong> cells, bone marrow cells, and skin cells.
<p>How do you administer it?
<p>The correct dose of methotrexate for your condition must be precisely determined by the oncologist. It is generally taken once or twice a week. Cases of death have occurred due to increased doses administered by mistake. In order to minimize the potentially harmful effects related to methotrexate you should test your blood on a regular basis. To be on the safe side you should also test your kidney and liver function. Be very serious about the whole process and by no mean miss a scheduled appointment.
<p>What should you avoid doing while you're on the medicine?
<p>This type of chemotherapy can be very dangerous in other combinations. For example, you should make sure you avoid use of alcohol in any form during the treatment. This can be very harmful to your health and can also disrupt the course of the treatment. Also avoid exposure to sunlight and UV rays as <strong>Methotrexate</strong> makes your skin more sensitive. Another thing you should keep in mind is that the older you are the more and more vulnerable you become.
Advanced Lung Cancer Prognosis
Published on Apr 09 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Recently, cancers of all types and under all forms have become one of the major health problems of our generations . Nowadays , the numbers that characterize these illnesses are worrying because they have never reached such maximum numbers and many of them before did not even occur or they did occur extremely rarely and almost none knew about them only for the doctors that have learned about them in theory and books but they did not actually had the real cases in front of them .
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This has happen to different types of cancers and one of them is the lung cancer that has become more and more common nowadays and before we did not hear anything about it . In the last years, the numbers of deaths caused by lung cancers has even been bigger than 1 million victims and the numbers is still increasing and the number of new cases detected is also increasing and these two things occur due to some factors which are extremely severe to the patients that suffer of this disease .
The main factor is the fact that usually lung cancer is not easy to discover and the majority of the patients are diagnosed with advanced lung stages and that is extremely bad because the advanced lung cancer prognosis is not too optimistic
The majority of patients are given a five years life expectancy the moment when lung cancer is detected but it is not sure that all the patients that will be given this life expectancy will actually manage to life the whole period of time . The survival rates which actually occur depend on many different factors and they can be differentiated even from patient to patient , from organism to other organism .
The type of lung cancer is an important factors meaning that there are two types of lung cancers : small cells lung cancers but they occur extremely rare and the non small cells lung cancers which are the most common type of lung cancers and although they are found under different forms the majority of them act in the same way the only exceptions are the large cells lung cancers which are extremely severe and also extremely rapidly fatal to the patients that develop such a form of lung cancer .
Usually one of the most important factors that usually are one of the most decisive aspects for establishing the advanced lung cancer prognosis is the stage in which the lung cancer is when it is detected and the importance of knowing exactly how it is found in the body of the patient and what harm it may have caused till that moment .
The usual form of lung cancer meaning non small cells lung cancers is usually declared as advanced when it is in stage two or three out of four because the first one is the apparition of it and the fourth stage is the terminal faze, and faze two or three depends on whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or not and what damage has caused.
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This has happen to different types of cancers and one of them is the lung cancer that has become more and more common nowadays and before we did not hear anything about it . In the last years, the numbers of deaths caused by lung cancers has even been bigger than 1 million victims and the numbers is still increasing and the number of new cases detected is also increasing and these two things occur due to some factors which are extremely severe to the patients that suffer of this disease .
The main factor is the fact that usually lung cancer is not easy to discover and the majority of the patients are diagnosed with advanced lung stages and that is extremely bad because the advanced lung cancer prognosis is not too optimistic
The majority of patients are given a five years life expectancy the moment when lung cancer is detected but it is not sure that all the patients that will be given this life expectancy will actually manage to life the whole period of time . The survival rates which actually occur depend on many different factors and they can be differentiated even from patient to patient , from organism to other organism .
The type of lung cancer is an important factors meaning that there are two types of lung cancers : small cells lung cancers but they occur extremely rare and the non small cells lung cancers which are the most common type of lung cancers and although they are found under different forms the majority of them act in the same way the only exceptions are the large cells lung cancers which are extremely severe and also extremely rapidly fatal to the patients that develop such a form of lung cancer .
Usually one of the most important factors that usually are one of the most decisive aspects for establishing the advanced lung cancer prognosis is the stage in which the lung cancer is when it is detected and the importance of knowing exactly how it is found in the body of the patient and what harm it may have caused till that moment .
The usual form of lung cancer meaning non small cells lung cancers is usually declared as advanced when it is in stage two or three out of four because the first one is the apparition of it and the fourth stage is the terminal faze, and faze two or three depends on whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or not and what damage has caused.
What To Expect In The Final Stages Of Lung Cancer
Published on Apr 02 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Lung cancer patients are given a five year survival rate when they are first diagnosed with this disease but many of them are not very optimistic regarding their survival rates and chances because there is a high mortality rate of lung cancer all over the world
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Annually there are registered more than 1,3 millions new cases of lung cancer detected and more than 1,1 millions patients who suffer of lung cancer die each year
Many of them are scared and they do not know about the factors that influence the life expectancy of the lung cancer patients and also what to expect in final stages of lung cancer . The main factors which are highly important are the type of lung cancers that the patient has and also the stage in which the cancer is detected .
The lung cancer can be of two different types like : small cell lung cancers, but their appear extremely rare, and the non small cell lung cancers, which are the usual forms of lung cancer which people develop and which can be diagnosed in different stages, but the majority are discovered in advanced stages when things are much more complicated for the patients
There are four different stages which are scaled from one to four depending on how serious is the lung affection . The first stage is of course the easiest cancer form when cancer it is just installed and there appear the tumors but they are at the beginning . Stage two is considered to be also an early stages because the cancer is local, it is found only in the lungs and it does not have spread to other organs ; but very rarely there are cases of lung cancers in stage two which have spread to the lymph nodes which are localized in the nearby area
What is the worst part is the fact that the majority of the patients are diagnosed with severe forms and advanced stage of lung cancer, meaning there are many patients with stage three or four lung cancer which are also the final stages of lung cancer . Many of them when are diagnosed do not know what to expect in the final stages of lung cancer . For understanding this, they have to know what is being going on in their lungs, with their tumors and also how they affect or not their life and body
They have to know that since stage three, the lung cancer can no longer be called local cancer because the cancer starts to spread . The first thing is when cancer spreads to the lymph nodes from the area or from other parts but on the same part of the body as the tumors, and also in those stages the lung cancer spreads to different other organs and parts of the body . So the patients have to be ready to face not only the lung cancer symptoms but also all the complications that will come with the cancer together .
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Annually there are registered more than 1,3 millions new cases of lung cancer detected and more than 1,1 millions patients who suffer of lung cancer die each year
Many of them are scared and they do not know about the factors that influence the life expectancy of the lung cancer patients and also what to expect in final stages of lung cancer . The main factors which are highly important are the type of lung cancers that the patient has and also the stage in which the cancer is detected .
The lung cancer can be of two different types like : small cell lung cancers, but their appear extremely rare, and the non small cell lung cancers, which are the usual forms of lung cancer which people develop and which can be diagnosed in different stages, but the majority are discovered in advanced stages when things are much more complicated for the patients
There are four different stages which are scaled from one to four depending on how serious is the lung affection . The first stage is of course the easiest cancer form when cancer it is just installed and there appear the tumors but they are at the beginning . Stage two is considered to be also an early stages because the cancer is local, it is found only in the lungs and it does not have spread to other organs ; but very rarely there are cases of lung cancers in stage two which have spread to the lymph nodes which are localized in the nearby area
What is the worst part is the fact that the majority of the patients are diagnosed with severe forms and advanced stage of lung cancer, meaning there are many patients with stage three or four lung cancer which are also the final stages of lung cancer . Many of them when are diagnosed do not know what to expect in the final stages of lung cancer . For understanding this, they have to know what is being going on in their lungs, with their tumors and also how they affect or not their life and body
They have to know that since stage three, the lung cancer can no longer be called local cancer because the cancer starts to spread . The first thing is when cancer spreads to the lymph nodes from the area or from other parts but on the same part of the body as the tumors, and also in those stages the lung cancer spreads to different other organs and parts of the body . So the patients have to be ready to face not only the lung cancer symptoms but also all the complications that will come with the cancer together .
End Stage Lung Cancer
Published on Mar 29 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Non small cell lung cancers have four different stages from I to IV meaning the fact that stage I is the one which is an easier stage and IV stage the most severe of all . In stage I , lung cancer is at the beginning and is confined to the lung .The patients who are diagnosed with stages II and III , the cancer is already confined to the chest and we can already speak about large tumors , the stag is classified as a advanced stage and that is in most cases a patient who is diagnosed with stage III lung cancer . If we refer to stage IV , the lung cancer is extremely spread to all parts of the body and is metastatic and we can even call it end stage lung cancer .
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Life expectancy in this final stage is considered extremely poor or even zero but this can vary among different kinds of bodies and patients . One important factor is the type of lung cancer, where it is localized because in this stage the cancer encompasses few types of cancers and cancers which have spread to only one region or cancers which have spread throughout the body .
Other important factors are also the age, younger patients can manage to live longer than the older patients , also the sex is a major factor because the life expectancy for women with lung cancer is much more higher at any stage of lung cancer than the one for men , general health of the patient because a good general health can help the patient to have a longer life expectancy, can give the patient a greater ability to bear a wide selection of treatments that can improve their life quality .
How the patients feels and how healthy is he in stage 4 depends very much on how has the patients responded to the treatment meaning how their organism has reacted to chemotherapy and which side effects appeared as a result of the treatment, also how radiation therapy has worked for the patients and how many complications of the lung cancer has the patient developed in different parts and vital organs of the body .
End stage lung cancer or stage 4 lung cancer can have different life expectancies but the statistics point out that the median stage of the lung cancer meaning the time when half of the patients are alive and the other half is dead is about 8 months .
That five year survival rate that the patients are given when they are diagnosed is about the percentage of the total patients that have a chance to be alive after 5 years since the moment they are diagnosed with this stage 4 of lung cancer is only about 10 per cent . It is important to outline that this stage can not be cured but it can be treated in order to improve the survival rate but also the symptoms of the lung cancer including patient’s life expectancy .
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Life expectancy in this final stage is considered extremely poor or even zero but this can vary among different kinds of bodies and patients . One important factor is the type of lung cancer, where it is localized because in this stage the cancer encompasses few types of cancers and cancers which have spread to only one region or cancers which have spread throughout the body .
Other important factors are also the age, younger patients can manage to live longer than the older patients , also the sex is a major factor because the life expectancy for women with lung cancer is much more higher at any stage of lung cancer than the one for men , general health of the patient because a good general health can help the patient to have a longer life expectancy, can give the patient a greater ability to bear a wide selection of treatments that can improve their life quality .
How the patients feels and how healthy is he in stage 4 depends very much on how has the patients responded to the treatment meaning how their organism has reacted to chemotherapy and which side effects appeared as a result of the treatment, also how radiation therapy has worked for the patients and how many complications of the lung cancer has the patient developed in different parts and vital organs of the body .
End stage lung cancer or stage 4 lung cancer can have different life expectancies but the statistics point out that the median stage of the lung cancer meaning the time when half of the patients are alive and the other half is dead is about 8 months .
That five year survival rate that the patients are given when they are diagnosed is about the percentage of the total patients that have a chance to be alive after 5 years since the moment they are diagnosed with this stage 4 of lung cancer is only about 10 per cent . It is important to outline that this stage can not be cured but it can be treated in order to improve the survival rate but also the symptoms of the lung cancer including patient’s life expectancy .
Advanced Stage Lung Cancer
Published on Mar 24 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Lung cancer kills annually 1.1 millions people which represents circa 85-90 % of the total patients which are diagnosed . This disease is so rough because it is extremely hard to detect in early stages and the patients are detected with advanced stage of lung cancer ; also the type of treatment that can be applied depends very much on the type of lung cancer cells, meaning if they are small cells or non-small cells and the general appearance of the patient and how the disease has extended and affected other parts of the body .
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When we talk about small cells lung cancers, they are divided in two stages the limited stage or LS which is considered an early stage and the extensive stage or ES which is the advanced stage because the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is no longer localized only in the chest area . If we refer to non small cells lung cancers the stages of lung cancer and numerous and they are divided in four stages where stage I is the one who is not so grave and IV the most severe of all . Small cells lung cancers are detected pretty rare , they register only 20% of the total cases but they are much more aggressive than the other type of lung cancer.
The non small cells lung cancers occur in a larger number of patients and they also have many types of appearance : squamous cell carcinomas appear in circa 30% of the cases, adenocarcinomas are the most frequent and they cover almost 50% of the cases of non small cells lung cancers and large cell carcinomas or undifferentiated carcinomas which appear extremely rare but they are extremely rapidly fatal to the patients because it develops very quick and it kills the patients rapidly .
The survival rates are much more optimistic when we refer to the first two stages but they vary between the different types of non small cells cancers : adenocarcinoma 32% for first stage and for second stage the survival rate is 7% , squamous cell – epidermoid is 38% for first stage and 16% for the second stage, but for the rarely undifferentiated large cell 30% for first stage and 6% for second stage . When we talk about the advanced stage of lung cancer , life expectancy is extremely poor so when a patient is diagnosed with third stage the survival rate is between 3% for adenocarcinoma and 9% for squamous cell-epidermoid and these percentages are even smaller if occur many complications and affections in other parts of the body .
The treatment can offer a pretty good quality life for the survival rate of five years since the patient is diagnosed with cancer but actually only little of those above percentages manage to survive throughout the five years but it is important to be diagnosed when the tumor are localized in places where surgery can make its part and the patient can support the chemotherapy and radiation therapy .
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When we talk about small cells lung cancers, they are divided in two stages the limited stage or LS which is considered an early stage and the extensive stage or ES which is the advanced stage because the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is no longer localized only in the chest area . If we refer to non small cells lung cancers the stages of lung cancer and numerous and they are divided in four stages where stage I is the one who is not so grave and IV the most severe of all . Small cells lung cancers are detected pretty rare , they register only 20% of the total cases but they are much more aggressive than the other type of lung cancer.
The non small cells lung cancers occur in a larger number of patients and they also have many types of appearance : squamous cell carcinomas appear in circa 30% of the cases, adenocarcinomas are the most frequent and they cover almost 50% of the cases of non small cells lung cancers and large cell carcinomas or undifferentiated carcinomas which appear extremely rare but they are extremely rapidly fatal to the patients because it develops very quick and it kills the patients rapidly .
The survival rates are much more optimistic when we refer to the first two stages but they vary between the different types of non small cells cancers : adenocarcinoma 32% for first stage and for second stage the survival rate is 7% , squamous cell – epidermoid is 38% for first stage and 16% for the second stage, but for the rarely undifferentiated large cell 30% for first stage and 6% for second stage . When we talk about the advanced stage of lung cancer , life expectancy is extremely poor so when a patient is diagnosed with third stage the survival rate is between 3% for adenocarcinoma and 9% for squamous cell-epidermoid and these percentages are even smaller if occur many complications and affections in other parts of the body .
The treatment can offer a pretty good quality life for the survival rate of five years since the patient is diagnosed with cancer but actually only little of those above percentages manage to survive throughout the five years but it is important to be diagnosed when the tumor are localized in places where surgery can make its part and the patient can support the chemotherapy and radiation therapy .
Lung Cancer Stages
Published on Mar 23 2010, in the categories: Stages of disease
Lung cancer kills annually more than 1 million people all over the world and the survival rate since the moment it is discovered is circa 5 years but with different percentages depending on the type of cancer and the stage . Because of these facts , it is important to know how many types of lung cancer are and of course lung cancer stages, this is extremely important in establishing the treatment for the patients .
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First of all, there are several types of lung cancer but the major two categories are small cell lung cancers or SCLC and non small cell lung cancer or NSCLC and they established on the way the tumor cells appear on the microscopic view . They are also differentiated by the way they grow and spread and because the treatment is also different . SCLC appear pretty rare , they register only 20% of the total cases but they are much more aggressive than the NSCLC .
Other important fact is that the SCLC spread more rapidly and become metastatic very quick and affect many parts of the body . The NSCLC are much more frequent but they appear under many forms such as : adenocarcinomas are the most frequent and they cover almost 50% of the cases of NSCLC, other forms are squamous cell carcinomas appear in circa 30% of the cases and large cell carcinomas or undifferentiated carcinomas are the rarest type of lung cancer cells .
When we talk about lung cancer stages thing also are differentiated between the two categories . NSCLC have four different stages from I to IV meaning the I is the one who is not so grave and IV the most severe of all . In stage I , lung cancer is at the beginning and is confined to the lung . Then we talk about stage II and III , the cancer is already confined to the chest and when we speak about large tumors , the stage is classified as being a stage III lung cancer . If we refer to stage IV , the lung cancer is extremely spread to all parts of the body and is metastatic .
For SCLC , the system of stages has only two stage and it consists of : limited stage LS and this means the fact that the cancer Is located in his area of origin, meaning the chest and there also exists the extensive stage or ES when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is no longer localized only in the chest area .
Depending on these two major facts the type of lung cancer and the stages of the lung cancer and the clear difference between small cell lung cancer and non small cell lung cancer, the survival rate can be different and also the type of treatment that can be applied, the way it is applied, who the patients react at it and also if there appear side effects and how difficult are they .
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First of all, there are several types of lung cancer but the major two categories are small cell lung cancers or SCLC and non small cell lung cancer or NSCLC and they established on the way the tumor cells appear on the microscopic view . They are also differentiated by the way they grow and spread and because the treatment is also different . SCLC appear pretty rare , they register only 20% of the total cases but they are much more aggressive than the NSCLC .
Other important fact is that the SCLC spread more rapidly and become metastatic very quick and affect many parts of the body . The NSCLC are much more frequent but they appear under many forms such as : adenocarcinomas are the most frequent and they cover almost 50% of the cases of NSCLC, other forms are squamous cell carcinomas appear in circa 30% of the cases and large cell carcinomas or undifferentiated carcinomas are the rarest type of lung cancer cells .
When we talk about lung cancer stages thing also are differentiated between the two categories . NSCLC have four different stages from I to IV meaning the I is the one who is not so grave and IV the most severe of all . In stage I , lung cancer is at the beginning and is confined to the lung . Then we talk about stage II and III , the cancer is already confined to the chest and when we speak about large tumors , the stage is classified as being a stage III lung cancer . If we refer to stage IV , the lung cancer is extremely spread to all parts of the body and is metastatic .
For SCLC , the system of stages has only two stage and it consists of : limited stage LS and this means the fact that the cancer Is located in his area of origin, meaning the chest and there also exists the extensive stage or ES when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is no longer localized only in the chest area .
Depending on these two major facts the type of lung cancer and the stages of the lung cancer and the clear difference between small cell lung cancer and non small cell lung cancer, the survival rate can be different and also the type of treatment that can be applied, the way it is applied, who the patients react at it and also if there appear side effects and how difficult are they .
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