In general, when cancer reaches this point, it’s treatable but not consideredcurable.
Although the road to feeling well and seeking possibleremissionmay be tough, there is hope.
Recent advancements in treatment have been improving survival rates and helping those with late-stage lung cancer manage symptoms.
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc / Getty Images
Staging
Stage 3 lung canceris divided into three sub-stages, of which stage 3B is one.
Stagingis a process used to describe how much cancer is in the body.
As a general rule, know that the lower the stage number, the less the cancer has spread.
To identify how advanced cancer is, oncologists use the TNM system.
They also check whether cancerous lung cells havespread to other regions of the body.
Using this system, stage 3B is divided into four possible designations.
Additional symptoms of stage 3B NSCLC can vary depending on where the tumor is.
For example,hemoptysis(coughing up blood) can occur when tumors are near the airways.
Other symptoms may include increased shortness of breath.
The standard therapy for stage 3B lung cancer is a combination ofchemotherapyandradiation therapy, otherwise known as chemoradiation.
If you respond well to two or more treatments of chemoradiation, immunotherapy is usually followed.
Immunotherapy drugs have resulted in durable responsesi.e., long-term survival for some people with advanced lung cancer.
It’s used after chemoradiation therapy and was found to improve progression-free survival.
In addition, newer treatments and strategies such astargeted therapiesare making a difference for people with advanced lung cancer.
Targeted therapy medications act on specific genes and proteins that contribute to the growth of cancer cells.
Treatment for other less common genetic alterations are being studied in clinical trials.
They use targeted therapy medications to stop these mutated cells from growing or causing more damage.
Examples include the drugs Krazati (adagrasib) and Lumakras (sotorasib).
They target the KRAS G12C mutation, found in about 13% of people with NSCLC.
Both were recently approved for use in patients with advanced or metastatic disease after other therapies have been tried.
Some of these treatments may be combined with other therapies to manage stage 3B lung cancer.
Yet another treatment option is to enroll in aclinical triala study that tests new cancer treatments.
Clinical trials are available for stage 3B non-small lung cancer as well as other stages and types of cancer.
The improved prognosis with chemoradiation is still under 18 months.
The five-year survival rate with stage 3B non-small lung cancer is sadly only 3% to 7%.
They may not reflect improvements in life expectancy that have been made using newer drugs.
The average survival time for those receiving stage 3B cancer treatment is around one year.
However, emerging treatments are showing promise in improving survival outcomes.
There’s a wealth of information online that can help you increase your understanding of the disease.
Also, learn tobe your own advocate in your cancer care.
Lemjabbar-alaoui H, Hassan OU, Yang YW, Buchanan P.Lung cancer: Biology and treatment options.Biochim Biophys Acta.
2015;1856(2):189-210. doi:10.1016/j.bbcan.2015.08.002
American Cancer Society.Non-small cell lung cancer stages.
American Cancer Society.Signs and symptoms of lung cancer.
2015;15:29. doi:10.1186/s12890-015-0025-z
American Cancer Society.Treatment choices for non-small cell lung cancer, by stage.
Agustoni F, Hirsch FR.PACIFIC trial: New perspectives for immunotherapy in lung cancer.Transl Lung Cancer Res.
2018;7(1):S19S24.
doi:10.21037/tlcr.2017.12.12
American Cancer Society.Targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.
National Cancer Institute.Non-small cell lung cancer treatment (PDQ)health professional version.
2018;6(7):150-155. doi:10.12998%2Fwjcc.v6.i7.150
NIH.
National Cancer Institute.What are clinical trials?
2016;46(2):144-51. doi:10.3978%2Fj.issn.2072-1439.2011.01.02
