Lung Cancer: Experts Concerned It Will Mutate and Spread Among Non-Smoking Women as Smoking Habits Change | 15MAX

Approximately 1,500 Lithuanians are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. Only about 7 percent survive for five years. sick men and about 17 percent. woman. Lung cancer accounts for 13 percent. of all newly diagnosed cancers in men and is the second most common cancer in men after prostate cancer. 2015 In Lithuania, 1,346 people died from this disease, of which 1,100 were men. It is claimed that up to 90 percent. cases of lung cancer from smoking.

Treatment optionmes: we trymes take the trainto

According to the deputy director of the National Cancer Institute Clinic, the thoracic surgeon prof. Saulius Cicėnas, one in 10 smokers will definitely get lung cancer and die about 15 years earlier than they could. Unfortunately, lung cancer is not only one of the most difficult cancers to treat, but it is also less common in the early stages. COVID-19 and the quarantine further aggravated the situation.

“We can already use data from the Cancer Registry, which shows the incidence of cancer in the last 15 years. We can also compare morbidity rates with other countries. Unfortunately, the statistics are not gratifying. Five-year survival is still low in compared to other countries.This year there has been a further increase in advanced lung cancer, a neglected form of the disease that is very difficult to treat, and a decrease in early forms that can be treated surgically, and in some cases where the The patient’s condition prevents it, there are ways to treat it without surgery: rays, gamma knife, etc.

More and more older patients wait until the last minute and only see a doctor when severe symptoms appear. This was also influenced by the situation in COVID-19 and the quarantine introduced in the country. Services have become more difficult to access, all of which has led us to face much more complex disease cases in the fall and of course to have adequate treatment results.

In terms of treatment, several compensatory immunotherapy drugs are available for the treatment of advanced lung cancer that can be combined with other treatments. So there is little progress in this area. We also receive a drug that is the main treatment for advanced lung cancer if it meets certain parameters. So the results of treatment are much better than starting chemotherapy. Still, we don’t expect a breakthrough in treatment outcomes. We just run after the lung cancer train, trying to catch it and jump into the last few cars. Someone is lucky, someone is not. This is how we live ”, said the interlocutor.

It is true that patients have the opportunity to participate in international clinical trials and receive the latest drugs that they do not yet know when they will be reimbursed in Lithuania, and the results of the treatment are encouraging.

“The good news is that things have started with the treatment of small cell lung cancer. Although it represents about 15 percent. Of all lung cancers, it is a very aggressive cancer that affects younger people. It has been treated as standard for many years, but research has shown that adding certain modern drugs can lead to better treatment results, ”said the doctor.

Survival timeme depends on the stage

All of the modern preparations mentioned above do not cure lung cancer. They usually just prolong the time until the disease progresses. Overall survival improves very little. On the other hand, the disappearance or relief of symptoms and the longer time until the recurrence of the disease is already very high, because the possibility of living longer without symptoms gives the person a completely different quality of life. It is true that we must not forget that we are talking about the treatment of stage four lung cancer, so the well-being of the patient depends on his state of health, which can be mild, moderate or severe.