Small Cell Lung Cancer
Almost all cases of small cell lung cancer are due to cigarette smoking . It is a fast-growing cancer that spreads much more quickly than other types of lung cancer . There are two different types of small cell lung cancer :
� Small cell carcinoma ( oat cell cancer ; most small cell lung cancers are of the oat cell type ) � Combined small cell carcinoma
Surgery is most commonly used in non-small cell lung cancers and less frequently in small cell lung cancer , which tends to spread more quickly to other parts of the body . Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for small cell lung cancer , as these medicines circulate throughout the body killing lung cancer cells that may have spread outside of the lung . Radiation therapy is frequently used in combination with chemotherapy when the tumor is confined to the lung and other areas inside of the chest . Radiation therapy may also be used to prevent or treat the development of small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain ( metastasis ). In radiation therapy , precisely targeted X-rays are used to destroy localized cancer cells . Radiation therapy can be used to prevent tumor recurrence after surgery , to treat tumors in patients who are not candidates for surgery or to treat tumors causing symptoms in other parts of the body .
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the chest lining , most often caused by asbestos exposure . It accounts for about 5 percent of all lung cancer cases . Mesothelioma develops over a long period time , from 30 to 50 years between exposure to asbestos and getting the cancer .
Most people who develop mesothelioma worked in places where they inhaled asbestos particles .
Once mesothelioma has been diagnosed , it is staged , which tells the patient and doctors how large the tumor is and where is has progressed beyond the initial site .
Chemotherapy , radiation and surgery can all be part of the treatment for mesothelioma . Combined approaches that utilize these therapies together — particularly using chemotherapy prior to surgery , as well as new drugs that specifically target mesothelioma cells — are currently being tested .
Lung cancer specialists at Johns Hopkins use surgery , radiation , chemotherapy or all three to treat mesothelioma .
Chest Wall Tumors
Chest wall tumors are rare . Like other cancers , tumors found in the chest wall may be malignant or benign . Malignant tumors must be treated . Benign tumors will be treated depending on where they are located and the symptoms they cause . If a tumor presses against a lung so that a patient can ' t breathe , for example , then it must be treated .
Types of Chest Wall Tumors
Tumors found in the chest wall are also categorized by whether they are primary tumors ( starting in the chest wall ) or metastatic tumors ( spread to the chest wall from cancer that started elsewhere , such as in