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Progress in prevention, early detection and treatment based on current research is expected to save many
thousands of lives each year. Research studying lung cancer is currently underway in many medical centers throughout the world.
What's New in Lung Cancer
Treatment?
 Prevention
Many researchers believe that prevention offers the greatest opportunity at this time for fighting lung cancer. Although
decades have passed since the link between smoking and lung cancers was clearly identified, scientists estimate that smoking is still responsible for
about 80% of lung cancer deaths. Research continues to study how to help people quit smoking through counseling, nicotine replacement, and other
medications. Behavioral researchers are studying ways to convince young people to not even start smoking.
Research also continues to test ways to prevent lung cancer in people at high risk, by using vitamins or medication.
Studies have focused on smokers including those who have already received treatment for a smoking-related cancer (lung, larynx, mouth, etc.). Earlier
studies found that smokers who ate a diet high in vegetables had a lower lung cancer risk than smokers who ate fewer vegetables. Some researchers
concluded that vitamin A supplements actually increased lung cancer risk among smokers. Studies of other vitamins and new chemopreventive agents continue.
But for now many researchers think that simply following the American Cancer Society dietary recommendations (such as choosing most foods from plant
sources and eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day) may be the best strategy.
Earlier Diagnosis
Nearly twenty years ago, large studies were done to determine whether routine chest x-rays and sputum cytology testing
could save lives. Most researchers concluded that these tests did not find lung cancers early enough to significantly lower the risk of death from lung
cancer. However, some researchers disagree about the best way to interpret the studies' data, and debate continues.
Many researchers believe that new technology will make early lung cancer detection possible. Preliminary results suggest
that computed tomography (CT) scans can find lung cancers early enough to save lives among people at high risk for developing lung cancer. Another
approach involves new ways to more sensitively detect cancer cells in sputum samples.
Researchers have recently found several changes that often affect the DNA of lung cancer cells. Current studies are
evaluating new diagnostic tests for specifically recognizing these DNA changes, to see if this approach is useful in finding lung cancers at an earlier
stage.
Treatment
Chemotherapy: Many clinical trials are in progress to
test new chemotherapy drugs. Some studies are testing whether the effectiveness of drugs known to be active against lung cancer can be improved by
combining them with each other. Other studies are testing the best ways to combine chemotherapy with radiation therapy and to decrease the side effects of
certain chemotherapy drugs.
Immunotherapy: Treatments that boost the patient's
immune system reaction to fight lung cancer more effectively are being tested in clinical trials.
Some treatments use drugs like interferons and interleukins that boost the immune system in general. In active
immunotherapy, the patient is given a vaccine that might cause the immune system to recognize some of the abnormal substances in lung cancer cells and as
a result, kill these cells. For example, the K-ras or the p53 gene products are altered in many lung cancers and researchers are testing ways to help the
patient's immune system attack cells with these altered proteins.
Passive immunotherapy uses antibodies made in the laboratory that are then injected into patients to seek out lung cancer
cells that contain abnormal oncogene or tumor suppressor gene proteins. Toxins or radioactive atoms can be attached to these antibodies, so that the
cell-killing chemicals or radiation is targeted specifically to the cancer cells. Therefore, healthy cells of the body are not affected.
Gene therapy: Great advances were made during the past 20 years
in understanding how DNA changes cause cells to become cancerous, and how DNA regulates the immune system's response to cancer cells. Many researchers
believe this progress can be applied to develop more effective ways of treating lung cancer through gene therapy.
Researchers are developing ways to alter lung cancers by adding extra DNA, so that cancer cells are better recognized and
more effectively attacked by the patient's immune system. They are using DNA to repair the gene mutations thought to be responsible for the lung cell's
original transformation into a cancer cell. These and other gene therapy strategies are currently being tested in phase I clinical trials, and some show
encouraging preliminary results.
Web
Resources
Although it may not be easy, there are many resources available to help you quit smoking; contact the following
organizations for more information:
American Lung Association
http://www.lungusa.org/
American Heart Association
http://www.americanheart.org/
American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/
Mesothelioma Information and Resource Group (MIRG)
http://www.mirg.org
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The Health Alliance's monthly Healthy Living articles about dealing with cancer. Read about distinct
cancer types, foods that heal, and therapies that reduce the pain of cancer sufferers. |
Literature
The Health Alliance is offering FREE literature to help you quit smoking. If you would like a copy of any of the
materials below, please contact us at 1-888-640-CARE or HealthInfo@healthall.com
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