It is a SAD fact that the general prognosis for a late-stage (stage 4) lung cancer patient is not very good at all. Although, it should be noted at this point, some late-stage patients do seem to pull something out of the hat and respond well to treatment (in general, when talking about late-stage lung cancer, it is usually assumed to be non-small cell [NSCLC] - the most commonly diagnosed type).
NSCLC is usually responsible for 80% + of all cases diagnosed, whereas small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is usually only responsible for under 20% of cases(SCLC is the least common and more deadly of the two types). Mixed cell/large cell lung cancer is a mixture of both SCLC and NSCLC.
Stage 4 - indicates that the cancer has metastasized from its origin to another part/s of the body (outside of the chest area). However, sometimes certain situations will arise in its development that allows for a patient to have a better out-come (usually only with NSCLC patients). For example:
- When the metastasis of the cancer is limited in size and number, it may be possible to treat it with modern aggressive directed treatments.
- When bronchioloaveloar (BAC) is present in a patient (a type of non-small lung cancer), due to it being very slow-growing - often a patient can be monitored without the need for treatment (sometimes for many years).
- Where non-small lung cancer is present, molecular testing is usually carried-out to determine ALK mutations (mutations in the ALK gene change single protein building blocks [amino acids] in anaplastic lymphoma kinase - 5% of patients are usually affected), and EGFR ([epidermal growth factor receptor] 15% of patients are usually affected). TKI([s] medicine may be used to target the mutations for a prolonged control of the cancer (Xalkori and Tarceva).
- Under certain circumstances, a patient may have late stage NSCLC that is sensitive to chemotherapy (prolonging prognosis [life-expectancy] due to the treatment being more successful).
However, in general, a stage 4 NSCLC diagnosis will mean a short prognosis (related factors to an individuals prognosis [taken on a one by one basis] include: age, general health, treatment choice and response, and the characteristics of the tumor). But, as a general rule-of-thumb, the following could be considered to be normal in most cases:
Non-small cell lung cancer (stage 4) - low prognosis (only 10% - 15% of sufferers will be seen to still be alive 5-years after diagnosis).
Small-cell lung cancer (stage 4) - very low prognosis (only 5% - 10% of sufferers will still be seen to be alive 5-years after diagnosis [2 - 4-months if left untreated]).
Philip is a Freelance Writer, Author, and Owner of Cancer Cry. He was born in Oxfordshire, England; however, today he lives in Mexico where he has been based for many years writing about cancer and other health related issues. If you would like to read more of his articles, check out his blogsite - http://www.cancercry.com Thank you for reading Philip's articles!
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