Adenocarcinoma Lung Cancer - What is It?

Of the different types of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma lung cancer, also called a malignant pulmonary neoplasm, is one of the more complicated. It has the ability to metastasize to different areas of the pulmonary system which has the effect of severely limiting the patient's lung capacity and function.

Adenocarcinoma is a type of non small cell lung cancer and is the most common in both smokers and non-smokers. It is also the most common lung cancer found in women and people younger than 45 years of age. Adenocarcinoma is more likely than other cancers to stay contained in one part of the body, and if so, they tend to respond better to treatments. This is particularly true if surgery is deemed to be the most appropriate treatment. In surgery, part of the lung, a lobe of the lung or the entire lung is removed with the tumor.

It is called a metastatic tumor because it spreads to various parts of the lungs through the blood vessels and lymphatic system. There is a danger in women that adenocarcinoma of the lungs will metastasize to the ovaries and uterus, so these areas are routinely checked along with the lungs and airways. The metastatic process of adenocarcinoma is complicated and has a specific set of behaviors that allows oncologists to treat it mainly with chemotherapy, radiation and supportive therapies.

The symptoms of adenocarcinoma of the lungs include:

• Severe chest pain
• Breathlessness
• Persistent cough
• Coughing up blood
• Wheezing
• Breathing and swallowing discomfort
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss
• Hoarseness

As with many types of lung cancer, these symptoms are not exclusive to adenocarcinoma, so it is rarely the symptoms of lung cancer that takes the patient to the doctor. It is common for adenocarcinoma lung cancers are detected during the investigation of any combination of these symptoms.

The usual treatment for adenocarcinoma may involve surgery to remove the diseased part of the lung, or the entire lung, followed up with radiation therapy and maybe chemotherapy as well. However, surgery is only an option if the cancer remains contained in the lung where it originated. If the tumor has metastasized, or spread outside the originating lung, surgery is no longer an option, and so the treatment will consist of chemotherapy or radiation therapy or a combination of these two treatments. The chemotherapy drugs that are available to oncologists at this time are varied, and the ones used will be dependant on the specifics of the individual patient and their tumor.

Additional supportive therapies will be aimed at relieving the symptoms to improve the patient's quality of life. A special diet will be implemented to increase the level of nutrition, aimed at strengthening the body to be better able to handle the harsh treatments of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The success of the treatment of adenocarcinoma lung cancer depends largely on how developed the carcinoma was at the time of diagnosis, its location in the lung and whether it has metastasized.