Archive for the 'Lung Cancer' Category

A combination of chemotherapy agents that have been tested in other tumor types appears to be a promising alternative to standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to a report.

In a phase II multicenter study of 56 patients with an advanced form of this common lung cancer, endpoints including response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival from use of S-1 and irinotecan were similar to, or better than, those reported from standard treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy regimens.

Because the study had only a single arm – meaning all patients received the experimental therapy – the researchers cannot say if this regimen offers more benefit than standard treatment.

But they did report that side effects resulting from the experimental therapy appeared to be much less severe than those typically seen with standard treatment.

“There continues to be reluctance on the part of both patients and treating physicians to accept the toxicity of platinum-based therapy, given the associated small gain in survival, so active therapies with improved toxicity profiles are clearly needed,” said the study’s lead investigator, Isamu Okamoto, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Medical Oncology.

Read more at EurekAlert

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have shown that an MGH-developed, microchip-based device that detects and analyzes tumor cells in the bloodstream can be used to determine the genetic signature of lung tumors, allowing identification of those appropriate for targeted treatment and monitoring genetic changes that occur during therapy.

CTCs or circulating tumor cells are living solid-tumor cells found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream.

“The study of the CTC-chip device opens up a whole new field of studying tumors in real time,” says Daniel Haber, MD, director of the MGH Cancer Center and the study’s senior author.

“When the device is ready for larger clinical trials, it should give us new options for measuring treatment response, defining prognostic and predictive measures, and studying the biology of blood-borne metastasis, which is the primary method by which cancer spreads and becomes lethal.”

The current study was designed to find whether the device could go beyond detecting CTCs to helping analyze the genetic mutations that can make a tumor sensitive to treatment with targeted therapy drugs.

The researchers tested blood samples from patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that carrying a common genetic disorder doubles the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers and nonsmokers.

Researchers found that the genetic disorder, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (α1ATD), could explain up to about 12 percent of lung cancer patients in this study and likely represents the same widespread risk in the general population.

A normal α1AT gene produces a protein that stops enzymes from breaking down elastin, which keeps lung tissue elastic for normal function. Carriers of? 1ATD commonly develop emphysema and/or chronic obstructiveaCarriers of pulmonary disease (COPD). Prior to this study, the connection between α1ATD, COPD and lung cancer risk had not been established.

All α1ATD gene carriers were at a similarly greater risk of developing lung cancer, regardless of smoking status. Those who had never smoked were at a 2.2-fold higher risk; light smokers had a twofold greater risk; and moderate to heavy smokers had a 2.3-fold increased risk.

Although the study helps explain why people who have never smoked can develop lung cancer, it doesn’t mean that people who don’t have the gene won’t develop lung cancer. “Smoking remains the overwhelming risk factor for lung cancer development.”

Are you having lung cancer? You can use chemotherapeutic drugs to cure the cancer.

Some of them are platinol, Taxol, Oncovin, Gemzar and Paraplatin.

For lung cancer chemotherapy the combination of two or more drugs is used. This can improve the treatment. They include:

• Carboplatin plus VP-16
• Cisplatin plus vinorelbine tartrate
• Paclitaxel plus carboplatin and
• Cisplatin plus VP-16

Other lung cancer chemotherapeutic agents used are CeeNu (lomustine), Neosar, Hycamtin and Methotrexate. These drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The frequent side effects of the lung cancer chemotherapy are Anemia. It can also cause other symptoms like shortness of breath, extreme tiredness or sometimes dizziness.

For the treatment of chemotherapy-related anemia, Epoetin alfa, a synthetic hormone that stimulates the production of RBCs is a prescribed drug.

Gemcitabine hydrochloride (Gemzar) has a unique ability against the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is a chemotherapeutic drug.

If you are with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, combination therapy that includes the drugs vinorelbine tartrate (Navelbine) and gemcitabine, cisplatin (Platinol) are safe to use.

If you have large cell lung cancer, the cells look large and rounded under a microscope. This type of lung cancer tends to grow quite quickly.

Yes, some tests are used to diagnose and cure this cancer, if you are suffering with this disease.

Lung cancer is common in both women and men. The lung cancer is of two kinds. Small cell lung carcinoma or non-small cell lung carcinoma. There are many categories of non-small cell lung cancer. They are adenocarcinoma of the lung, large cell lung cancer and squamous cell lung cancer.

In case of cigar smoking or exposure to tobacco smoke, you can get lung cancer. The development of lung cancer is also by certain chemicals and exposure to the metals like arsenic, radon, chromium, nickel and asbestos.

The uncontrolled growth of the abnormal cells in the lungs leads to the large cell lung cancer. 10 to 20% of the tumors start from the bronchi that lead to lungs. Smoking is the main cause for this kind of cancer. [Lung Cancer and Smoking]

If you are having large size tumor at the center of the lung, it can lead to tissue damage and excessive bleeding. Specific structure is not found in these tumors, so they are called as undifferentiated tumors.

Yes, many such alternative lung cancer treatments are taken up apart from the regular standard methods of treatments.

Many complementary methods that can be used safely along with standard treatment to help relieve side effects or symptoms, ease pain, and give a better life to live.

As you all know the journey with cancer is stressful, strenuous and more over long.

As the regular standard treatment procedures may be detrimental to the emotional well-being of the patient these complementary and alternative lung cancer treatments have stepped in to offer holistic treatment.

You’ll be surprised to hear that these complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) which are also referred to as integrative medicine includes a broad range of healing, approaches, therapies and philosophies.

These therapies are used in an effort to reduce side effects and symptoms, prevent illness, reduce stress, prevent and control or cure the dreadful disease.

Be Very Careful! It is important to discuss them with your physician in selecting these procedures for treatment. Your doctor is the right person to suggest whether you can go for these alternative lung cancer treatments or not.

Here’s some information on what is Asbestos Cancer, how it is caused, its general symptoms, risk factors and also find out who is at high risk of this asbestos cancer.

A short note on the various diagnosis tests is also included. All this in just a few seconds of reading!!

Pleural plaques and Asbestosis can result from exposure to asbestos, and more notably so can Asbestos cancer, a deadly cancer that can take many decades to show its symptoms.

As this has a maximum latency period, it becomes highly impossible to diagnose at an early stage. Thirty years or more after the first exposure to asbestos most cases of asbestos cancer cases are diagnosed.

Significant exposure to asbestos increases the risk of asbestos cancer and non-malignant lung and pleural disorders, lung cancer. Risk depends on concentration, duration, frequency and type of asbestos fibers.

What is High Latency Period? Diseases from asbestos exposure take a long time to develop. Fifteen or more years after initial exposure to asbestos most cases occur in asbestos workers.

Quit Smoking!! Yes, smoking greatly increases the likelihood of lung cancer in workers exposed to asbestos, although smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma cancer.

Relax! Don’t get tensed up as to what this new cancer is all about.

As the United States is the leading country with more cases of lung cancer reported each year many organizations and associations have come up to fight this disease.

One such association in this process is the American Lung Cancer Association.

As Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States, many researches are carried out to find better preventive methods and to make early detection possible.

And the surest way to defeat it is to prevent it from ever happening. You can even contact these associations online for any help or query.

Both men and women prove to be targeted by this disease. Men have higher rates than females. In 2003, 78.5 per 100,000 men compared to 51.3 per 100,000 women were diagnosed in the United States

Lung cancer causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate). In the United States during 2004 an estimated 173,700 new cases were found and an estimated 160,440 deaths from this disease will be reported.