Posted on 2 January, 2012
Lung Cancer Treatment
61Over 170,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer annually. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women and considered the most deadly of cancers, because it is difficult to diagnose early. Smoking is believed to be a major factor. Lung cancer takes on two major forms - non-small cell, originating in the epithelial cells; and small cell lung cancer, arising from nerve or hormone-producing cells. When either of these two types develops, a tumor is formed.
There are traditional approaches to the treatment of cancer, chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, immunotherapy, or one or more combinations of these. However, an increasing number of alternative approaches are developing.
Chemotherapy is the treatment with strong medication and one of the major procedures used today. Surgery is indicated when the cancer is localized and contained and to prevent metastasis (spreading). Sometimes in combination with surgery or chemotherapy, oncologists use radiation, high-energy x-rays, to kill cancer cells.
Immunotherapy, a somewhat newer treatment, is used to boost the individual?s own immune system to fight the disease more naturally.
An alternative therapy showing promise, Controlled Amino Acid Therapy (CAAT) has been developed and studied at the A.P. John Institute for Cancer Research. CAAT is a procedure involving carbohydrate and protein deprivation. Research at the National Cancer Institute (Dr. Marco Rabinwitz) and the University of Chicago (Dr. Albert Lorincz) supports the benefits of CAAT in treating cancer. In short, CAAT, with its specific diet protocols and scientifically formulated amino acid supplements, works to impair the proliferation and development of cancer cells.
New chemotherapy treatments work somewhat differently than traditional chemical agents. Gefitinib, a treatment approved in 2003, is administered in the form of a pill. It specifically targets and blocks an enzyme required for tumor cell growth and metastasis. Another new chemotherapy treatment, still in clinic study, show s promising results. This treatment involves a combination of two chemical/biochemical agents - Bevacizumab and Erlotinib. Bevacizumab is an antibody which works outside of a cancer cell to block growth of new blood vessels which would feed a tumor. Erlotinib is a treatment designed to work inside the cancer cell. It blocks signals that trigger cancer growth.
Another new treatment being developed is Photodynamic Therapy, or PDT. PDT a phototoxic drug (photosensitizer) is administered and then followed by localized exposure of the cancerous target to visible light. This may be light generated by lasers or more conventional sources. It is currently prescribed for solid cancerous lesions. Because various immune type cells play a key, yet loosely defined role in the efficacy of PDT to eradicate tumors, studies at the BC Cancer Research Centre are being conducted to use PDT and immunotherapy in concert, to yyyen the effects of PDT.
Many new lung cancer treatments are being researched and introduced, which target the more specific mechanisms of cancer growth at the cellular level. The basic research on the nature of cancer cells is now paving the way for new, increasingly effective and less harsh treatments.
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