Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer, after prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. At the same time, however, it also holds the first place as the deadliest cancer for both sexes, worldwide, with smoking being the main cause.
In Greece, new cases are constantly increasing, as the percentages of smokers still remain high, a fact that could be reversed, provided it is diagnosed early, with the application of modern treatments available.
What are the causes of lung cancer?
“In the first place we find smoking, but even exposure to smoke in any form, and passive smokers are also at increased risk of developing the disease. Consequently, a smoker can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by stopping smoking.
Other risk factors include exposure to asbestos and radon, but there are also some patients for whom we cannot identify a known cause that gave them this particular form of malignancy,” says Mr. Epaminondas Samandas, Oncologist – Pathologist, Director of the Second Oncology Clinic at Metropolitan Hospital.
What are the symptoms of the disease?
The symptoms that a lung cancer patient may experience vary. “Some patients are asymptomatic, but most develop cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea, chest pain, malaise or fever. After the necessary imaging test is done, it is particularly important to perform a biopsy, which differentiates between the two main histological types, small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. The non-small cell type, which makes up 80-90% of cases, mainly includes adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma,” the expert points out.
Has there been progress in addressing it?
“Remarkable progress has been made in recent years, with more options available in addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The first of these concerns targeted therapies, which, as their name suggests, target specific mutations in cancer cells, for which we have drugs. These are usually pills, which the patient takes orally, with the aim of increasing life expectancy and improving his quality of life.
The second important development is immunotherapy, which is a milestone in changing the treatment algorithm, and is taken either alone or in combination with chemotherapy, and also shows excellent results. It is an intravenous treatment designed to activate the body’s defenses and induce an effective immune response against cancer,” he explains.
Is there prevention in the early stages?
“Of course, there can be prevention. It appears that annual low-dose computed tomography can identify early stages of lung cancer, so it should be performed regularly by smokers and smokers who have stopped smoking in the past 15 years. In the Metropolitan Hospitalwe have in collaboration with the organization FairLife, a lung screening program involving medical oncologists, pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons. In fact, in recent years, more than 100 patients have been examined, in whom early lung cancer was found in a percentage greater than 5%. In these cases, because the disease was detected at an early stage, the cancer was effectively treated,” concludes Mr. Samandas.
*The Metropolitan Hospital Radiation Oncology Center consists of a highly qualified and experienced team of specialists, who through an oncology board with oncologists, pulmonologists and radiologists offer a consultative approach and individualize every aspect of patient treatment. It is worth noting that Metropolitan Hospital offers the most modern radiotherapy techniques for the treatment of lung cancer, including Three Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) and of Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) and four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT).
Source :Skai
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