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Lymphadenopathy Lung Cancer Treatment

Lymphadenopathy lung cancer is lung cancer that results in mass forming in the lymph nodes. Lymphadenopathy (the mass in the lymph nodes) and lung cancer frequently appear separately, but when they appear together it is usually an indication that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Treatment is generally the same as with any cancer, and entails several options depending on the patient's particular circumstances and history. These options are usually surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, with less conventional options being immunotherapy and transplants. Treatment usually involves a combination of these different therapies, depending on the stage, severity and aggressiveness of the lung cancer and lymphadenopathy.

  1. Chemotherapy

    • Chemotherapy is usually the first treatment that doctors try when facing lymphadenopathy and lung cancer. Chemotherapy involves administering drugs into the body to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy treatment is usually administered in several rounds. Side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss, fatigue, stomach pain and a decrease in bone marrow.

    Radiation

    • Radiation treatment emits radiation over the cancer cells to kill them. Radiation also kills healthy cells in the body, resulting in side effects similar to chemotherapy: hair loss, fatigue, stomach pain and a significant decrease in bone marrow. Radiation therapy, however, is very effective and is frequently used to battle all types of cancer.

    Transplants

    • When high levels of chemotherapy or radiation therapy is used, bone marrow transplants are used to replace the bone marrow that is destroyed during those processes. Stem cell transplants are used in a similar manner. This method is usually used as a last resort, as it requires intensive hospitalization and destroys the patient's immune system.

    Immunotherapy

    • Boosting the patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells is a relatively new method of treatment, but can be successful in some cancer cases. A related treatment involves injecting antibodies into the patient's immune system, which then attack the cancer. This type of therapy is less invasive and requires less hospitalization than any other therapy, and side effects are generally milder. Side effects are usually very short-lived and include fever, nausea and fatigue.

    Surgery

    • Surgery is occasionally used for lung cancer, but is rarely used for lymphadenopathy. Surgery is sometimes used to decrease the size of a tumor before attacking it with other treatments. Occasionally other organs are destroyed in the battle with cancer, and they need to be surgically removed. The spleen is the most-often removed organ in patients with lymphadenopathy lung cancer.

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