Metastases in the lungs are screenings of a primary malignant tumor. Direct spread of cancer cells over the area of the body occurs through the lymphogenous and hematogenous methods, that is, due to the transfer by the bloodstream or lymph flow. In this article, we will consider in detail what the symptoms are in the presence of metastases, and also find out what methods of treatment are used in the fight against this pathology.
How long do people live with lung cancer with metastases?
Description
The lungs have a fairly large area of tissues through which blood is constantly pumped, and therefore they act as the second organ after the liver according to the criterion of vulnerability due to metastasis. With the development of a primary oncological process within the ovaries, intestines and other organs of a person, in about a third of cases there is a skid with the development of metastases in the lungs.
It should be noted that pathology is more common amongmen who are over sixty years of age. Metastases in the lungs cause a great danger to a person's later life, since atypical cells are found there, as a rule, already in the last stages of a fatal disease.
Types of lung cancer
Specialists usually distinguish between only two types of respiratory tract cancer:
- Disseminated type.
- Mediastinal type.
In the mediastinal form, metastases in the lungs occur as a result of pathological cells entering through the lymph, against this background, the primary tumor is not detected during the examination. With a disseminated variant of the disease, there are several foci of tumors in the lungs at the same time. The rate of appearance of metastases can be very different, depending on the structure of the tumors themselves. Often, metastases are multiple, which is the reason for their spread to other human organs. Metastases themselves are often detected after a long time.
Types of metastases
Oncologists distinguish the following three types of metastases:
- Lymphogenic metastases. In this case, the distribution of deadly cells occurs within the lymph nodes located near the lungs. At the same time, metastases eventually affect the respiratory organs and, depending on the intensity of the development of the disease and the stage, affect the bronchi with blood vessels.
- Implantation metastases. Against this background, the spread of cancer cells occurs as a result of their accidental transfer to he althy organs. Usually,with this option, a person can live no more than a year, even if the disease was detected at the initial stage of its development.
- Hematogenous metastases in lung cancer. Such elements spread towards the brain, liver, kidneys and bones of a person. The diagnosis of this type in patients indicates the development of the last stage of the disease.
Reasons
As noted above, the causes of lung metastases are caused by the spread of cancer cells throughout the body through the circulating lymphatic fluid. In the respiratory organs, tumors of the digestive and genitourinary systems can metastasize. In addition, quite often metastases appear near the primary lung tumor or at the site of a previously removed formation. That is, in this way, a recurrence of cancer occurs.
Forms of cancer with such metastases
Intrapulmonary metastasis occurs as a result of the development of the following forms of cancer:
- Cancer of the mammary glands, kidneys, and, in addition, the ovaries and uterus.
- Cancer of the intestines, as well as the stomach.
- Pancreatic cancer.
On top of that, directly in stage 4 lung cancer, metastasis can cause a location near the tumor.
What do lung metastases look like?
Determine lung metastases in cancer through radiographic diagnosis. In this case, the pictures show that the secondary foci appear in nodular, mixed and diffuse-lymphatic form. Nodular foci are multiple or solitary formations. Solitary forms are a delineated rounded knot, which is usually located in the basal structure. Solitary metastases are similar to primary lesions.
As a rule, pulmonary metastasis occurs in focal forms, although there is also a large-nodular variant. A metastatic tumor is often accompanied by lymphangitis, in connection with this, the corresponding symptoms begin to manifest themselves already in the early stages. In the event that metastatic formations are pseudo-pneumatic in nature, then the strand pattern may change, appearing on the X-ray in the form of a linear thin seal.
Metastasis in the pleural region remotely resembles pleurisy. X-ray images show a massive effusion with tuberous lamellar outgrowths. As a result of oncological processes in the pleura, pulmonary insufficiency develops, and in addition, subfebrile condition is constantly present along with a deterioration in the general condition of the oncological patient.
Symptoms of lung metastasis
In the early stages, signs of the presence of metastases may more resemble a loss of vitality. For example, a person's interest in life is weakened, working capacity decreases, fatigue with apathy increases. In most patients, with the development of this disease, there are signs of all kinds of acute respiratory diseases, such as catarrh of the respiratory tract, relapse of influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis, and so on. howas a rule, this occurs already at the third stage of the disease.
The patient may sometimes have an increase in body temperature, and in addition, there is a general malaise. The use of antipyretic drugs in a short time will help to eliminate the manifestations that have arisen. But in this situation, patients usually seek help only after some time, when they find themselves very exhausted by repeated attacks.
No obvious signs of illness
Sometimes the symptoms of the presence of metastases in the lungs can only appear at the last stage of the pathology, when a person begins to bother with a strong cough along with bloody discharge and sputum. Often the cough has a short duration, resembling the effects of a common cold. There are pronounced signs of the presence of metastases in the lungs in no more than twenty percent of all cases, among which there is usually:
- Frequent expectoration of blood.
- Having a severe choking cough.
- Significant weight loss.
- Shortness of breath.
- Slight increase in body temperature.
- Presence of permanent general weakness.
- The appearance of pain in the chest and ribs.
Treatment of lung metastases
In order to determine exactly which treatment will be most effective, it is required to identify the primary source of the pathological tumor. In addition, the doctor evaluates the size of the metastases themselves, determining their number. The diagnostic step is very important.since only the correct determination of the size of the tumor with its location will help to draw up a competent course of therapy. The following treatments are commonly used in modern medicine:
- Performing radiation therapy, which is used to relieve the symptoms of the disease and help improve the general condition of the patient.
- Administration of chemotherapy aimed at controlling the growth and spread of metastases.
- Radiosurgery procedure. This technique is based on the excision of certain oncological formations using a cyber-knife.
- The use of surgery, in which tumors are removed surgically.
- Performing endobronchial brachytherapy. As part of this technique, capsules with radioactive contents are delivered to the patient's bronchi through a special device.
- Laser resection is used for throat blockage and breathing problems.
In the fourth stage of the disease, lung metastases can be the most difficult to treat. But recently, new more modern methods of dealing with the disease have appeared, including the following procedures:
- Conducting neutron radiation.
- Gamma radiation procedure.
Both of these methods produce a precisely focused beam that targets the cancer without affecting nearby tissue.
It should be noted that it is extremely rare for doctors to diagnose the presence of a cancerous tumor at a stage when it is still small in sizeand managed to give only one or, in extreme cases, only a few metastases. Which, of course, is very sad, because the urgent removal of the primary tumor, and in addition, single daughter tumors, allows you to treat the disease. But, as already noted, early diagnosis is, unfortunately, very rare.
Lung metastases are very common in grade 4 cancer.
How to treat secondary lesions?
Treatment of a secondary pulmonary oncological focus is identical to the treatment of primary lesions. At the same time, radiation, laser, hormonal and chemotherapeutic methods are used:
- Surgical intervention justifies itself only in cases of single metastasis, as well as in the absence of similar lesions in other organs.
- Hormone therapy is effective against the background of prostatic or breast cancer with lung metastasis.
- Chemotherapy with anticancer drugs is often the basis of therapy.
- Radiotherapy pays off if there is reticulosarcoma along with osteogenic Ewing's sarcoma, which are particularly hypersensitive to radiation.
In addition to the above methods, specialists use laser and radiosurgery. In the event that large bronchi are compressed, then endobronchial therapy should be carried out.
How long can a person live with stage 4 cancerlung metastases?
Forecast of the life of people with this diagnosis
The results of effective treatment of lung metastases directly depend on a number of the following factors:
- Total number of metastases.
- Degree of development along with the location of the primary tumor.
- The size that metastases have.
- Timely treatment of the disease.
As practice shows, with metastases in the lungs, the prognosis is most often disappointing, since life expectancy even after surgical elimination of a cancerous tumor that has managed to metastasize, on average, is about five years. In particular, more than fifty patients can live up to ten years after the surgical removal of malignant tumors of the digestive system.
Ninety percent of patients with genitourinary cancer have more promising life expectancy in the range of three to twenty years.
