Bronchoalviolar carcinoma refers to lung cancers affecting the small airways, or bronchioles, as well as the alvioli, or air sacs within the lungs. Patients with bronchoalviolar carcinomas may experience coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath as the tumor interferes with normal lung functioning. Though the cancer grows throughout the lung tissue, it is usually only minimally invasive and does not metastasize as easily as other forms of lung cancer. Bronchoalviolar carcinomas may be treated with a number of therapies to remove or slow cancer growth.
Surgery
A common treatment for bronchoalviolar carcinoma is surgery to remove the tumor. A study published in the journal "Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery" in 2007 indicates that these tumors typically preserve the underlying structure of the lung and leave the surrounding connective tissue intact, and commonly fail to affect the lymph nodes, a common site of lung cancer spreading. As a result, surgery for these tumors can often remove the cancer while leaving the healthy lung tissue relatively unaffected, with only a small chance of cancer recurrence. However in advanced cases, where the cancer has spread extensively throughout the lung, doctors may not remove the entire lung tumor and additional treatment may be required.
EGFR Inhibitors
In some cases, doctors may treat bronchoalviolar lung carcinomas with targeted therapies, such as drugs targeting a protein called EGFR. Under normal circumstances, lung cells contain EGFR protein, that functions to maintain the lung tissue. Cells with active EGFR proliferate and receive signals that support continued survival. Many lung cancer cells over-produce EGFR protein, so the cancer cell constantly proliferates and become able to evade cell death, two behaviors that drive lung cancer development. By targeting EGFR, doctors can turn off the proliferative signals in cancer cells, slowing cancer growth and allowing bronchoalviolar carcinoma death. A study published in 2004 in Clinical Cancer Research indicates that EGFR inhibitors prove effective in controlling bronchoalviolar carcinoma, even in cancers resistent to chemotherapy.
Radiation
Some patients with brochoalviolar carcinoma may receive radiation therapy, either alone or as a compliment to other treatments such as cancer surgery. Radiation therapy exposes bronchoalviolar carcinoma cells to a high dose of radiation, inducing DNA and cellular damage and eventually causing cell death. Over the course of several radiation treatments, cells within the tumor die, leading to cancer remission and increased lung functioning. OncoLink, a website associated with the University of Pennsylvania, indicates that radiation therapy is commonly used on extensive cancer growth that cannot be removed with surgery.
