Lung cancer is classified by the type of tumor and the stage which the disease has progressed to, which is important because the classification determines the treatment regime which will be followed.

There are four stages of cancer - Stage I to IV and a catch-all category, Occult (which describes those cancers which are known to be present but cannot be seen using diagnostic tools).

The earliest, and least dangerous cancers are Stage I progressing to stage IV which represents very serious danger to the patient's life and the last stage of the disease.

Stage I & II Treatment Regimes

The main form of treatment is surgery and the removal (or "resection") of the cancer tumor.

It is common for additional treatment to be administered in the form of radiation treatment to follow up the surgery. Where a patient is unable to withstand surgical intervention due to their state of health, then radiation therapy alone may be used to destroy the tumor tissue.

Stage III Treatment Regimes

Physicians usually further classify Stage III patients into three further sub-groups:

1. Patients with obvious Stage III disease with abnormally large lymph nodes presenting on X-Ray or CT Scan;

2. Patients with normal looking lymph nodes but still cancerous; and

3. Classic Stage 3b patients with tumors of any size and presenting diseased lymph nodes.

Patients in group 1 probably have cancer in the enlarged lymph nodes and surgery is not likely to benefit them in this instance. A combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatment may benefit them more than any surgery. Treatment is usually done concurrently rather one after the other, as this produces a better response from patients but side effects are worse for patients.

Patients in group 2 may benefit from surgical resection but where the nodes are in fact cancerous, treatment as group 1 may be followed before any surgical intervention to remove visible tumors.

Patients in group 3 are not likely to receive surgery in any event and will be advised to follow a combination therapy as per group 1 if they have noncancerous effusion (fluid which is free of cancer cells). If cancerous effusion is presented, patients may consider receiving chemotherapy alone rather than no therapy and comfort care (unfortunately, such patients tend not to survive any longer than Stage IV patients, i.e. around 8 months).

Stage IV Treatment

Patients at this stage have two options - to receive chemotherapy or receive no treatment with comfort care. Chemotherapy alone improves overall survival rates and also helps with managing the symptoms of the disease for many patients.

Summary

While staging the disease is crucial in formulating an effective treatment regime, the precise nature and timing of any treatment must also be managed with precision and great care. Only the patient and the oncology team are able to make the determination as to when and what exact treatment therapies should be employed. In many instances, the aggressive use of combination therapies may allow for re-staging of the lung cancer whereby the tumor is shrunk to allow effective surgical intervention to take place.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_L_Perkins