How long a patient can live in stage IV lung adenocarcinoma with the application of targeted drugs is mainly judged by the sensitivity of the patient to the targeted drug treatment, the progress of the disease, the psychological condition and so on. Generally, patients can survive from a few months to 5 years.
1. Sensitivity of targeted drug therapy: patients with lung adenocarcinoma often have metastasis in the fourth stage, and lose the chance of surgery. Before applying targeted drug therapy, they need to carry out genetic test to judge that there are gene mutations in the corresponding loci, which can be treated with targeted drug therapy.
Targeted drug therapy, such as the use of gefitinib or erlotinib and other drugs, the existence of patients with EGFY mutation, the survival period of up to three years, ALK gene mutation, the survival period is expected to exceed five years. If the application of targeted drugs is not effective or drug resistance occurs, the survival may be only a few months, but the use of these drugs need to follow the doctor’s advice, not everyone is suitable.
2. Progress of the disease: the progress of the disease has a certain relationship with the clinical stage of the patient, pathological typing, etc., so pay attention to regular review to determine whether there is no metastasis in the liver, kidneys, brain and other organs.
3. Psychological state: if patients have good psychological state and accept the disease they are suffering from, the survival period may be prolonged after applying targeted drug therapy.
For patients with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma treated with targeted drugs, it is recommended to consult the oncology department of regular hospitals and actively cooperate with the treatment to prolong the survival period.