What Stage of Lung Adenocarcinoma Is It When It Spreads to Lymph Nodes? Is It Curable?
Lung adenocarcinoma is a type of malignant tumor that poses significant harm to the body. It is essential to take it seriously after being diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, especially considering the increasing incidence rate every year in recent years. There are also many factors that can lead to lung adenocarcinoma. To prevent it from harming our health, it is crucial to take preventive measures in our daily lives. Once diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, it is important not to lose hope and to actively cooperate with doctors for treatment, as the condition can be effectively controlled. Lung adenocarcinoma is prone to metastasis in the late stages, but what stage does metastasis to the lymph nodes usually occur?
If it is only mediastinal lymph node metastasis, it may be considered as mid-stage or early-mid-stage. However, if there is metastasis to the supraclavicular or cervical lymph nodes, or even metastasis to other parts of the body such as the abdomen, it would be considered as stage IV, or late-stage lung adenocarcinoma. Surgical treatment is not feasible for late-stage lung adenocarcinoma, but chemotherapy regimens based on pemetrexed or further genetic testing to see if targeted drug therapy can be used may be considered. There are various targeted drugs available for lung adenocarcinoma. If it is regional lymph node metastasis and the staging is relatively early, surgical resection or preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery may be options.
Lung adenocarcinoma with lymph node metastasis is a serious condition that can lead to significant cancer cell spread. The specific survival period varies from person to person, depending on the patient's immune system and other factors. Some patients may survive for several months, while others may survive for several years.
3.1 Smoking: Long-term smoking can lead to the proliferation of bronchial mucosal epithelial cells and the development of squamous cell carcinoma or undifferentiated small cell carcinoma. Although non-smokers can also develop lung cancer, adenocarcinoma is more common. Cigarette smoke releases carcinogenic substances.
3.2 Air pollution: With the rapid development of society, various types of air pollution have also emerged. Polluted air contains harmful factors that can be absorbed by the lungs and lead to lung diseases.
3.3 Occupational factors: Long-term exposure to radioactive substances such as uranium and radium, as well as their derivatives, carcinogens, hydrocarbons, arsenic, chromium, nickel, copper, tin, iron, coal tar, asphalt, petroleum, asbestos, and mustard gas, can all induce lung cancer, mainly squamous cell carcinoma and undifferentiated small cell carcinoma.