OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
Lung cancer metastasis refers to the malignant tumor originated in lungs, which metastasizes to tissues or organs inside or outside lungs through direct infiltration, bloodstream, lymphatic or post-shedding implantation to form a new lesion. Its clinical manifestations include cough, sputum, shortness of breath and other common symptoms of lung cancer, as well as manifestations of damage to the corresponding metastatic sites.
Whether medical insurance
Yes, it is
Department
Oncology
Clinical symptoms
Cough, sputum and blood, shortness of breath, fever, weight loss, invasive site symptoms such as chest pain, hoarseness, headache, bone pain, jaundice.
Harm
Causes multi-system damage and can be life-threatening.
Complications
Superior vena cava obstruction syndrome, Horner syndrome, pathologic fracture, etc.
Examination
Physical examination, tumor markers, X-ray film, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, PET-CT, bronchoscopy, histopathological examination, etc.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis can be made based on the history and extrapulmonary manifestations of the patient, combined with imaging and histopathologic examination.
Treatment principle
Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other comprehensive treatment according to the condition.
Curability
The aim of treatment is to relieve symptoms and prolong survival.
Dietary advice
Eat a light diet, supplement with nutrients, and prepare the diet according to the patient’s preference.
Etiology
Etiology
Tumors metastasize to other tissues or organs through direct infiltration, bloodstream, lymph or implantation.
Issues you may be concerned about
Lung cancer metastasis to the lower limbs, resulting in paralysis can it be cured?
Lung cancer metastasis to lower limbs, resulting in paralysis, cannot be cured.
Lung cancer is a malignant tumor of respiratory system caused by gene mutation, smoking, heredity, etc. With the development of the disease, when it progresses to the advanced stage, distant metastasis can occur, such as bone metastasis of lower limbs, at this time, there can be bone pain, pathological fracture, and clinical manifestations of local lumps.
At this stage, lung cancer is already in advanced stage, surgery is not preferred, and radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are usually adopted, and the five-year survival rate is about 3%-5%. The purpose of treatment at this stage is to prolong the survival time and improve the quality of life.
When metastasis of lung cancer occurs, don’t panic and actively cooperate with doctors for treatment. Improve the survival rate, prolong the survival time and improve the quality of life.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Typical symptoms
1. Primary manifestations (1) Chest pain: nearly half of the patients may have vague or indescribable chest pain or dull pain, which may be aggravated when breathing or coughing. (2) Hoarseness: Tumor invasion and metastasis to the mediastinal lymph nodes compress the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which may cause hoarseness. (3) Difficulty in swallowing: tumor invasion of esophagus may cause difficulty in swallowing. (4) Pleural fluid: tumor metastasis involving the pleura may produce different degrees of pleural fluid. (5) Superior vena cava obstruction syndrome: tumor invasion of superior vena cava may cause facial edema, neck swelling, jugular vein dilatation, and dilated venous collateral circulation seen in the anterior chest wall. (6) Horner’s syndrome: invasion of sympathetic nerves in the neck by the tumor can cause ptosis of the eyelid, pupil narrowing, eyeball inversion on the diseased side, and little or no sweating on the frontal area and chest wall on the same side; invasion of brachial plexus nerve can cause burning pain in the axilla radiating to the inner side of the upper limb, which is aggravated at night. 2. Symptoms of metastatic sites (1) Metastasis to the central nervous system: symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, such as headache, nausea, vomiting and psychiatric symptoms. Symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, such as headache, nausea, vomiting and mental symptoms. There may also be seizures, hemiplegia, disorientation, speech disorder, dementia and muscle weakness. (2) Metastasis to bones: it may cause bone pain and pathological fracture; compression of the spinal cord may cause sensory abnormalities, motor disorders, radiating pain, etc. Metastasis to joints may cause fluid accumulation in the joint cavity. (3) Metastasis to the abdomen: abdominal pain, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, fever, jaundice and other symptoms. (4) Metastasis to lymph nodes: mostly asymptomatic, the physical examination department touches the fixed and hard lymph nodes, mostly without tenderness.
Diagnosis basis
Preliminary diagnosis can be made based on the patient’s history of lung cancer, combined with physical examination and imaging examinations such as X-ray film, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, PET-CT, etc. Histopathological examination can make a clear diagnosis. Some patients may have metastatic site symptoms as the first manifestation, and the imaging examination can help to detect the lesion, and its definitive diagnosis depends on the histopathological examination. Depending on the situation, one or more of ultrasound, CT and magnetic resonance imaging may be chosen.PET-CT is advantageous for comprehensive evaluation of the whole body.
Questions you may be concerned about
Is the constant swelling and pain in the right foot bone a metastasis of lung cancer?
Constant swelling and pain in the right foot bone may be caused by metastasis of lung cancer, or it may be caused by trauma, arthritis and other diseases.
1. Lung cancer metastasis: For patients who suffer from lung cancer and have constant swelling and pain in the right foot bone, it is necessary to consider whether the lung cancer has developed to the advanced stage and the cancer cells have metastasized to the bone and joint.
2. Trauma: besides metastasis of lung cancer, it may also be caused by external impact on local joints in the course of exercise, which may cause swelling, pain and other symptoms.
3. Arthritis: arthritis is a general term for various types of inflammatory diseases of joints, the causes of which are related to degenerative diseases, autoimmunity and other factors, and the patients will have joint pain, swelling, stiffness and other characteristics.
For patients who themselves suffer from lung cancer, the persistent swelling and pain in the right foot bone may be caused by metastasis of lung cancer. For healthy people, this symptom is considered to be caused by other diseases.
The easiest way to determine lung cancer metastasis
There is no simplest way to determine lung cancer metastasis clinically, which can be diagnosed by PET-CT, abdominal ultrasound, bone scanning and CT, MRI and other examinations comprehensively.
1. PET-CT examination: whether lung cancer is metastatic or not can be assessed by PET-CT examination with whole body scanning, which can evaluate the whole body parts such as brain, liver, bone and adrenal gland.
2. Abdominal ultrasonography: whether lung cancer has metastasized or not can be examined by abdominal ultrasonography, which can check whether there are lumps and other abnormalities in the liver, and make a comprehensive diagnosis of whether there is liver metastasis.
3. Bone scanning and CT examination: whether lung cancer has metastasis can be examined by bone scanning and CT examination to see whether there are localized lumps and so on, so as to comprehensively evaluate whether there is bone metastasis.
4. MRI: metastasis in brain, liver, adrenal gland and soft tissues can be detected through MRI examination.
To determine whether lung cancer has metastasized, it is necessary to improve relevant examinations under doctor’s guidance to comprehensively diagnose and determine whether metastasis has occurred, and listen to doctor’s advice to actively carry out scientific and reasonable treatment to control the development of the disease.
Is diffuse thickening of pleura metastasis of lung cancer?
Diffuse pleural thickening may be caused by metastasis of lung cancer or pleural hyperplasia stimulated by inflammatory factors, and corresponding treatments should be given according to different causes.
1. Lung cancer with pleural metastasis: cancer cells stimulate pleural cells to undergo rapid proliferation, resulting in diffuse thickening of pleura, and even malignant pleural effusion, which often causes chest pain, chest tightness or dyspnea, etc. Patients with large amount of pleural effusion need localized treatment in the thoracic cavity.
2. Non-lung cancer metastasis: bacteria or tuberculosis invade the pleura or lungs, which can also lead to diffuse thickening of pleura due to inflammatory factor stimulation and inflammatory hyperplasia. Clinically, according to different types of causative organisms, antibiotics are chosen to control the infection or anti-tuberculosis drugs are used for treatment.
If diffuse thickening occurs in the pleura of lung cancer patients, it is generally recommended to go to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment, except for the possibility of metastasis.
Treatment
Treatment guidelines
Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other comprehensive treatments according to the condition.
Drug treatment
1. Symptomatic treatment is mainly based on clinical symptoms, such as analgesic, glucocorticoid, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, etc. 2. Bisphosphonates can be chosen for osteolytic bone metastasis. 3. When metastasis to central nervous system causes symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, diuretics, glucocorticoid, etc. can be used. 4. Targeted therapy can be considered for patients with tumor-specific genetics variants. 5.
Radiotherapy
1. Radiotherapy: it is of great significance in the treatment of both small-cell lung cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer, and suitable radiotherapy program should be selected according to the pathological typing, staging and metastatic site of lung cancer, etc. 2. Chemotherapy: chemotherapy program should be selected according to the patient’s pathological type, disease staging, and physical condition.
Surgery
For patients with metastatic lung cancer, surgery is aimed at relieving symptoms, improving quality of life and prolonging survival by combining with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, the decision of surgery should be based on the primary tumor and metastasis, patient’s tolerance level, prognosis, etc. The specific operation modes are also different depending on the site of metastasis.
Prognosis
In the advanced stage of the disease, appropriate treatment should be chosen according to the condition in order to alleviate the symptoms and prolong the survival period.
Questions you may be concerned about
Can lung cancer metastasis adrenal gland be operated?
Lung cancer metastasis to adrenal gland is not recommended to undergo surgical treatment, because it is generally difficult to completely kill tumor cells in advanced stage conditions.
Lung cancer metastasis to adrenal gland is clinically considered as advanced lung cancer, and besides adrenal gland, there may be metastatic tumor cells not found in other parts.
Since the tumor cells are already widely present in the patient, simple local surgical resection cannot achieve a radical cure.
After surgery, patients may suffer from post-surgical stress, decreased immunity and persistent tumor growth, leading to more serious consequences.
Therefore, for lung cancer with metastasis, surgery is not the first choice of treatment, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted and immune treatment can be considered.
How to treat lung cancer metastasis to brain
Lung cancer metastasis to the brain requires local radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and other anti-cancer treatments, and if necessary, diuretic, antihypertensive and other symptomatic treatments.
Brain metastasis of lung cancer mostly occurs in advanced stage, with the increasing size of tumor, it will squeeze surrounding tissues and cause edema and increased intracranial pressure, etc. Symptomatic treatment such as mannitol and furosemide tablets should be given in time to improve edema and reduce intracranial pressure.
At the same time, anti-cancer treatment should be carried out for primary lesions and metastatic tumors, including local radiotherapy, surgery, systemic chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiotherapy, etc., which should be determined in accordance with the specific metastatic situation and physical quality.
How to treat metastasis of lung cancer to liver?
Commonly used treatment options for lung cancer metastasis to liver include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy, etc. The use of drugs should follow the doctor’s prescription.
1. Drug chemotherapy: after lung cancer metastasizes to liver lymph nodes, chemotherapy drugs such as 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide and adriamycin can be used to carry out systemic chemotherapy.
2. Targeted therapy: patients can be treated with molecular targeted drugs such as bevacizumab and erlotinib, which can block the growth and reproduction of tumor cells and improve symptoms.
3. Radiotherapy: radiotherapy can kill cancer cells, control the development of lesions and relieve pain, and radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy can improve the curative effect.
It is recommended that patients go to the hospital in time, actively cooperate with doctors, relax, take more rest and develop good habits of life and work.
Nursing care
Daily care
1. Strictly quit smoking, improve the living environment, reasonably arrange activities and rest, and maintain a good mental state. 2. Adhere to the treatment, prevent infections and other complications. 3. For terminal patients, attention should be paid to end-of-life care, try to alleviate the patient’s pain, and improve the quality of life. 4.
Dietary management
Eat a light diet, supplement nutrition, and prepare the diet according to the patient’s preference.