Lung cancer treatments

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Do Tuong Huan - Oncologist - Oncology Center - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Most patients are diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, so the prognosis is quite poor. However, with early detection and proper treatment, lung cancer can be completely cured.

Is lung cancer curable? There are many treatments available for lung cancer. The treatment method depends on many factors such as the stage of the disease, the development situation, the type of lung cancer... Some lung cancer treatment methods are being widely applied today: :

Surgery is the definitive treatment, especially in cases where lung cancer is diagnosed at an early stage. The reason was that the tumor was still small, had not metastasized, and the patient's health had not been affected much, so the response to treatment was quite good. Surgery is usually performed to completely remove the lobe of the lung containing the tumor and remove the lymph nodes.
After surgery, the healing ability of lung cancer patients is very high. In the case of non-small cell lung cancer, the 5-year survival rate is about 50%. However, in our country, the number of early detection cases is very small, so the surgical method is rarely performed and the effect is not as good as expected.

When it comes to lung cancer and its treatment, radiation therapy is the most commonly used method. This method is used to treat lung cancer in cases where the tumor is large but has not spread to other organs. Radiation therapy uses high-energy beam projectors (X-rays, gamma rays, protons,...) to help kill cancer cells, destroy tumors, and slow tumor growth. For patients with stage III lung cancer, who are not indicated for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be given simultaneously or sequentially to obtain the best curative effect.
Radiation therapy can cause many complications affecting the patient's health. Complications soon appear after a few days: loss of appetite, nausea, redness of the irradiated skin, hair loss,... Some late complications will appear later: burning pain, dry skin, dermatitis , pulmonary fibrosis...
How long does radiotherapy for lung cancer live? A patient's survival time is long or short depending on many factors such as: type of cancer, time of disease detection and treatment, patient's condition, health care and nutrition regime,...

Lung cancer and chemotherapy are mainly applied to patients who have entered the late stages, when cancer cells have spread widely. Chemotherapy helps kill cancer cells and prevent cancer metastasis. In addition, chemotherapy is also used in combination with a few other therapies such as surgery or radiation therapy to treat stage 4 lung cancer to reduce the size of the tumor, kill any remaining cancer cells in the lung. body.
Because the drug is introduced into the patient's body intravenously, it will affect some other healthy organs. Therefore, this lung cancer treatment method also causes many side effects such as: anemia, nausea, vomiting, body exhaustion, lack of substances, immunosuppression, hair loss, reduced absorption nutrients,...

Non-small cell lung cancer is associated with genetic mutations (identified through molecular biology tests. From there, the doctor will assign the patient to use targeted therapy to destroy it. cancer cells but have little effect on healthy cells, causing few side effects.This method helps to improve survival time and quality of life for patients.

Immunotherapy helps create active immunity for the body, capable of destroying cancer cells by detecting cancer cell checkpoints. There are a number of immunotherapy drugs such as Durvalumab, Pembrolizumab, etc. However, the prices of these drugs are often very high.

During treatment, lung cancer patients are prone to some complications. Therefore, the patient can take the following additional support measures to complete the treatment regimen:
Acupuncture: using needles into acupuncture points on the body to stimulate blood circulation, reduce symptoms nausea, vomiting, pain, stress, anxiety,... Massage, yoga, meditation: helping the body of lung cancer patients relax, comfort, relieve pain in the chest, neck, back and shoulders. , reduce anxiety, stress, ... contribute to improve the effectiveness of therapy. Using herbs: combined with modern lung cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to reduce disease symptoms and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. However, patients need to consult a doctor before using herbs to avoid losing money. Using essential oils: bring positive emotions to the patient, reduce some symptoms such as headache, nausea, depression,... The essential oils that lung cancer patients can use are menthol. , rosemary, jasmine,...

Vinmec International General Hospital is applying immunotherapy to treat lung cancer for elderly patients. Lung cancer treatment with immunotherapy uses drugs that target the immune pathway, enhancing the ability to recognize and kill cancer cells for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

The results of many studies show that immunotherapy significantly improves survival in elderly patients with lung cancer. Elderly patients receiving immunotherapy also experience fewer side effects than those treated with chemotherapy.
In addition to immunotherapy, Vinmec Hospital also applies autologous immune system strengthening therapy. This method strengthens the immune cells in the patient's body to destroy cancer cells or prevent the cancer from coming back.
Using immune factor to treat cancer is the most advanced method in the world today. Vinmec has updated research on using drugs by immune mechanism to improve quality of life and prolong life for lung cancer patients.
Specialist Doctor II Do Tuong Huan has 20 years of experience in the examination, diagnosis and surgical treatment and chemotherapy of cancer pathologies. Dr. Huan used to work for a long time at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital from 1999 to 2017 and now works at Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital from March 2017.