Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the United States, may begin without symptoms. As the disease progresses, symptoms emerge, including bone pain, hoarseness, wheezing, coughing and coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss and headache, according to the Mayo Clinic's website. Physicians utilize traditional therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or targeted drug therapy for treatment, but many new and promising lung cancer treatments may prove successful.
Anti-angiogenesis Drugs
The American Cancer Society lists anti-angiogenesis drugs as a new therapy option in development. Cancerous tumors in the lungs need blood supply to grow; this occurs through the formation of new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis, reveals the National Cancer Institute. Anti-angiogenesis drugs block new blood vessels from forming within tumors, which stops the cancer from growing or spreading. Several anti-angiogenesis drugs have earned Food and Drug Administration approval, including drugs for the treatment of some non-small cell lung cancers. Studies and clinical trials for additional anti-angiogenesis therapies for lung cancers continue.
Lung Cancer Vaccines
Several types of vaccines to treat lung cancer may provide promising results, according to the American Cancer Society. These vaccines, in clinical trials as of 2010, improve the strength of the body's immune response against cancer cells associated with lung cancer. Unlike other vaccines, lung cancer vaccines in development do not prevent lung cancer. This therapy works to treat the cancer by improving immune response, a treatment that may help in combination with other treatments to shrink tumors. Researchers report few side effects from lung cancer vaccines.
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy
A study published in the March 17, 2010 issue of the American Medical Association reports that stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT, may provide promising treatment for inoperable, non-small cell lung cancer. This treatment can eliminate targeted tumors without the side effects associated with traditional cancer treatments. SBRT, a noninvasive therapy, delivers focused radiation beams in potent doses to tumors over one through five treatments. Traditional therapies for inoperable, non-small cell lung cancer offer a two-year survival rate of less than 40 percent. Over three years, SBRT therapy improved the disease-free survival rate to 48.3 percent, and the overall survival rate rose to 55.8 percent.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Lung cancer
- National Cancer Institute: Angiogenesis Inhibitors Therapy
- American Cancer Society: What's New in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research and Treatment?
- American College of Radiology: SBRT Eliminates Tumors With Promising Survival for Early Stage Inoperable Lung Cancer Patients
- Santamariatimes.com: Lung Cancer Vaccine Trials Begin at Marian
