Is lung cancer curable?

Medical science and healthcare facilities have seen great advancements in last few decades, and thanks to that treatment of lung cancer is possible. Lung cancer is usually curable if it has not spread beyond your lungs. However, the term 'cure' may mean an extensive treatment phase. Options like surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy may work for some and may not for others.

Unfortunately, according to a study, about half of the people with cancer get diagnosed after it has spread to other parts of the body. In such cases, the treatment is focused on managing the symptoms and prolonging the survival rate instead of killing the cancer cells. Read on to know more.

What are the treatment goals ?

If lung cancer is still contained in one lung, it can be cured with treatment. Doctors consider it cured if cancer doesn’t recur for at least 5 years after treatment. Some common treatment methods are —

1. Surgery

If cancer is restricted to one lung, doctors will surgically remove the tumour around the lymph nodes and lung tissues to ensure all the cancer cells are removed. Sometimes, a part or the whole lung is removed to prevent recurrence.

2. Radiation therapy

If cancer has already spread to your body and cannot be surgically removed, the cancer cells are killed with radiation therapy, which uses high-powered energy beams such as X-rays and protons.

3. Chemotherapy

Cancer cells are killed or shrunk with drugs administered orally or intravenously in chemotherapy. This treatment is usually done after surgery to kill any cancer cells that may remain. It may also be done before surgery to shrink the cancer cells, making it easier to remove.

4. Targeted drug therapy

The abnormalities present within cancer cells are specifically targeted with the help of drugs to kill them. This prevents healthy cells from getting damaged.

5. Immunotherapy

In immunotherapy, your immune system is used to fight cancer. Our body will identify the damaged or harmful cells and destroy them.

6. Palliative care

Palliative/Supportive care involves minimising your signs and symptoms to increase the survival period and improve your quality of life.

All the treatments have side effects, and your doctor will tell you about the complications based on the specific treatment.

Survival Rate

The survival rate of people with lung cancer depends on various factors, such as type of lung cancer, the stage of cancer i.e. how far the cancer has spread in your body at time of diagnosis, how your body responds to the treatment, overall health conditions, etc. For instance, if the tumour is less than 1 cm and hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, the survival rate is 90%. For tumours between 1 cm and 2 cm, it is 85%, and for tumours between 2 cm and 3 cm, the survival rate is 80%.

There are two primary types of lung carcinoma – small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Doctors measure the survival rate using a 5-year relative survival rate, i.e., the number of people alive after 5 years compared to those without cancer.

Here’s the survival rate based on the stage of cancer:

• 64% for NSCLC, 29% for SCLC for cancer contained in one lung (localised).

• 37% for NSCLC, 18% for SCLC for cancer spread to the lymph nodes (regional).

• 26% for NSCLC, 3% for SCLC for cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (distant).