Patients with lung cancer who have lymph node metastases are usually in the middle to late stage and surgery is not recommended. For these patients, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy are available.
Lung cancer is divided into non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer.
For non-small cell lung cancer, the presence of lymph node metastasis is intermediate to late stage, and surgery is not recommended. For this group of patients, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be administered, and some studies have shown that combined chemotherapy can increase survival, relieve symptoms, and improve quality of life. According to the patient’s mobility status 0 (asymptomatic), 1 (symptomatic and fully ambulatory), 2 (<50% of the time bedridden), 3 (>50% of the time bedridden), 4 (bedridden). A score ≤2 is feasible for chemotherapy. There are different chemotherapy regimens depending on the type of pathology. If the primary tumor obstructs the bronchus, upper airway, or superior vena cava, radiotherapy should be considered
For patients with small cell lung cancer, because small cell lung cancer is more sensitive to radiotherapy, chemotherapy-based combination therapy is recommended to prolong the survival of patients.
For patients with lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR and ALK mutations, targeted therapy can be chosen based on the mutation target, which has the advantages of having fewer side effects and maintaining the patient’s quality of life.