Health
Non small cell lung cancer treatments
Lung cancer is the most lethal of the three most common cancers combined—colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer. More than 50% of americans diagnosed with lung cancer succumb to the disease within a year after diagnosis. Lung cancer is classified as either small cell lung cancer (SCLC) or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC.) However, small cell lung cancer, or oat cell cancer, encompasses only 15% of lung cancer patients compared to 85% of non-small cell lung cancer patients. The 3 main types of NSCLC are adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma of which these contributing factors play large roles in development: Smoking Genetic factors Chemical exposure Family history These are the most common treatments for NSCLC: 1. Surgery Surgery is considered the best lung cancer treatment if the cancer stage is I, II or IIIA. Patients are advised to go under the knife to remove the section of the lung containing the cancerous tumors. Biopsies are then performed to assure that the tumor is cancerous. 2. Adjuvant therapy Patients diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer who have undergone surgeries to remove the cancerous tumors in the lungs may benefit from this adjuvant therapy to prevent cancer relapse.
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