How Aggressive Is Small Cell Lung Cancer?
There are two types of lung cancers: Non-Small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and Small cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC, also called oat cell carcinoma, is the least lung cancer type as it only takes up 10% to 15% percent of lung cancers.
It is an aggressive type of cancer since it is fast-growing and spreading. In most cases, it has already spread before diagnosis, which makes recovery less likely unless detected early. Those at risk of getting this disease are smokers or those with a smoking history.
Symptoms of Small Cell Lung Cancer
This disease is asymptomatic, which means that in the early stages, there are few symptoms. Usually, the symptoms are an indication of how much the disease has grown or spread. The more it grows, the more the signs. The initial signs may include:
- Chest pains
- Persistent coughing
- Wheezing and hoarseness
- Shortness of breath
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
When SCLC spreads, the patient may develop more symptoms depending on the area affected. Spread to the brain could cause headaches, nausea, blurred vision, seizures, limbs weaken. Bone pain like in hips or back when it spread to the bones, yellowing of skin and eyes (jaundice) from spread to the liver and growths or small lumps if it extends to the lymph nodes. Contact a doctor if you experience any of the initial symptoms.
Diagnosis and Staging of Small Cell Lung Cancer
Diagnosis
After a doctor has evaluated the patient’s medical history and identified the symptoms, the doctor will take several tests before the diagnosis. A chest x-ray will identify any tumor or mass in your chest. A doctor will conduct a CT scan to look at the chest from different angles for other small tumors that might not have been detected in a standard x-ray.
Other tests include a bronchoscopy used to look inside the trachea and lung airways using tubes through a camera. The doctor will look for tumors and take out samples for examination (biopsy). A thoracentesis, to remove the liquid in your lungs for analysis to check if it contains any cancer cells.
The doctor conducts more tests to determine whether cancer has spread and to which parts it has spread. These tests may include an MRI, which uses magnetic field technology and produces images to detect if cancer has spread to other areas like the brain. A PET scan is to check if there is an extent to the bones. And a blood test to check the general health. It would be best to find experts who can build a compelling case of cancer before beginning treatment.
Staging
After the doctor makes a diagnosis, they will determine the cancer stage to decide the best treatment. There are two stages in SCLC:
- Limited stage – the cancer is only on one side of the lung or nearby lymph nodes.
- Extensive stage – cancer has spread to the other side and other parts of the body.
Treatment of Small Cell Lung Cancer
The treatment will depend on the disease stage, size of the tumor, and the spread of cancer and parts it has spread, the patients’ age and health. And after considering all these factors, the doctor will decide the best treatment.
Chemotherapy is the use of medication administered orally or through the veins to kill the cancer cells and stop them from growing. It can be done in cycles with a rest period to give the body time to recover. The side effects may include hair loss, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and mouth sores. There are different ways to treat these side effects.
Radiation therapy is the use of high-powered x-rays to destroy the cells. It is usually administered together with chemotherapy to reduce the pain of some symptoms. The side effects may include fatigue and sunburn-like skin changes from radiation. The treatment rarely uses surgery in SCLC, and the only time it’s helpful is when cancer has not spread to any other part of the lungs.
There are chances cancer might recur, requiring more aggressive treatment if resistant to the previous treatment.