Lung Cancer Month 2005 - Living on with Lung Cancer
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The past 12 month has seen important advances in lung cancer from the early stages to treatment of patients with advanced lung cancer. These advances are probably greater in 12 months than has been achieved in the previous 25 years. Although each of these steps is a small one, they apply across the spectrum of lung cancer and these improvements will see many patients living longer and healthier lives.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy
It has now been clearly established that selected patients whose tumours have been removed benefit from chemotherapy given after their operation. This sort of treatment is commonplace after breast surgery. The benefit in lung cancer is similar to that seen in breast cancer and this improved survival from this treatment alone would prevent tens of thousands of people with lung cancer from dying each year.
Bevacizumab
This agent is an antibody that prevents lung tumours from increasing their blood supply. The addition of this treatment to the present standard treatment increases survival by up to xx% in patients for whom surgery is not possible.
Small Molecules
In recent years, two new drug treatments have been developed that are useful for the treatment of lung cancer after chemotherapy has ceased being effective. They are generally well tolerated with fewer side-effects than normally experienced with chemotherapy.
The advances in the past year are such that we have a much more precise understanding of which patients will benefit. Patient support and information. Each of the member groups of the GLCC has initiatives aimed at providing increased personal and group support for patients with lung cancer and their families. These advances highlight the importance of investing research efforts in proportion to the needs of patients in lung cancer. There is much still to do but the belief that lung cancer is an insoluble problem is clearly wrong. Redoubling efforts will have a dramatic further benefit on survival and quality of life for the patients who are diagnosed each year in. They will be living longer and better.
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