Advancements
in Treating Lung Cancer
New ways to detect and treat lung cancer are available that give more options and better health care. To help spot lung cancer early, low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) was compared to x-ray in a study that is part of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial. Although the computed tomography found 522 lung abnormalities in the 1,500 former smokers tested, the study did not prove that this test saved lives even though it was better at finding cancer than the x-ray. Final results of the study are still being determined to make recommendations to help doctors detect early lung cancer. Your doctor or radiologist may suggest the LDCT to help evaluate your health based on these findings presented in the November 22, 2004 issue of Cancer.
New drugs have also been recently approved. The latest is Tarceva, which can
treat the most common form of lung cancer in the U.S. Tarceva (erlotinib)
tablets can be a safe and effective treatment for locally advanced or
metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although the exact way the drug
works is not fully understood, Tarceva seems to block the growth of cancer
cells by working with enzymes and proteins in the body. Tarceva is a targeted
drug that is believed to have few side effects and was granted fast-track
approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has also
recently approved other drugs to treat lung cancer such as Iressa and Erbitux.
SOURCES: National Cancer Institute, Cancer; U.S. Food and Drug
Administration
http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/lung/healthprofessional#Section_88
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01139.html