Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsStagingSymptomsTreatmentsPrognosisCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Staging
Symptoms
Treatments
Prognosis
Coping
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Understanding the various ways lung cancer can present at stage 3A and knowing all your treatment choices can help you and your oncologist plan a personalized approach to battling your disease. Newer treatments are making it possible for some patients to live longer, healthier lives.
2:57An Overview of Staging For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
2:57
An Overview of Staging For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
This is known as the TNM system and it includes three components:
Numbers or letters are used with the T, N, and M notations to indicate how large or how advanced the cancer is for that area. There are four designations for stage 3A, which include the following:
An Overview of Stage 3 Lung Cancer
Because this lung cancer stage encompasses a range of tumor sizes and locations, symptoms of stage 3A lung cancer can vary. Some people have no symptoms with stage 3A lung cancer or assume that the early signs are related to seasonal illness. And some people experience symptoms of stage 3A lung cancer that prompt medical attention.
Common signs to watch for:
If left untreated, existing symptoms may progress or new symptoms can develop as the tumors grow and spread.
There is a range of treatment options, and the right treatment for you will depend on your TNM designation, your symptoms, and any other medical conditions that you have.
Working with your healthcare provider, you should review your treatment options as you determine which will offer you a chance to be cancer-free or improve the length of time you can manage the disease before it begins to progress.
Localized Treatment
Oncologists typically choose local treatments for stage 3A NSCLC. This involves therapies that work to eliminate the cancer where it is located (versus systemic therapy, in which treatment is sent throughout the body to destroy all cancer cells that have spread beyond the lungs).
Surgery andradiationare usually the preferred localized treatment options.
Sometimes neoadjuvant treatments and adjuvant treatments are used with localized procedures to improve the prognosis.
Even with new breakthrough treatments, the survival rate for stage 3A NSCLC continues to be low. You may want to consider enrolling in aclinical trial. This is a type of research study where you would potentially receive treatments that are under development and not yet approved for treatment.
Chemoradiation
Combining chemotherapy and radiation—known as chemoradiation—is another approach to combating 3A NSCLC. Analyses of multiple studies show that treating the cancer with both forms of therapy at once provides a 10% reduction in the risk of death when compared with using just one of the therapies alone.
Targeted Therapy
Everyone with NSCLC is encouraged to undergogenetic testing(molecular profiling), which allows healthcare providers to see if your cancer cells have any of the genetic mutations that make the tumor responsive to certain therapies.These includeEGFR mutations, KRAS G12C mutations,ALK rearrangements, andROS1 rearrangements.
Targeted therapydrugs, such as Krazati (adagrasib), Tagrisso (osimertinib), Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw), or Lumakras (sotorasib), target cancer cells that have these mutations to keep them from spreading.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapyis another option for some people. This treatment includes medications that boost the immune system and enable the body to fight cancer.
They do not work for everyone, but for some people with stage 3A NSCLC they may provide a way to reduce symptoms and the spread of cancer, and help to manage the disease long term.
For instance, the drug Infinzi (durvalumab) can be used following chemotherapy and radiation to improve progression-free survival for several years.
Options for Treating NSCLC
The overall five-yearsurvival ratewith stage 3A lung cancer is approximately 13%, but this varies widely depending on the designation of tumors, spread, and metastases.
Certain treatments are showing promise for improving the survival rate. Invasive surgery, for instance, is now more successful in this regard.
Your surgeon might perform a fulllobectomy(removal of one of the five lobes that make up your lungs) or apneumonectomy(complete removal of one lung) with good results for treating your tumor.
Radical surgical procedures for treating large tumors in stage 3A may provide a 50% increase in the five-year survival rate.
Of all the stages of lung cancer, stage 3A is the most variable and has the greatest number of options for treatment. That’s why it is so important to be directly involved with the decision-making during your treatment.
A lung cancer diagnosis can be frightening and feel overwhelming. Support is important, so let your loved ones know how they can best help you on your cancer journey.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.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.2015.08.002American Cancer Society.Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Signs and symptoms of lung cancer.Jordan EJ, Kim HR, Arcila ME, et al.Prospective Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Lung Adenocarcinomas for Efficient Patient Matching to Approved and Emerging Therapies.Cancer Discov. 2017;7(6):596-609. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-16-1337Antonia SJ, Villegas A, Daniel D, et al.Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.N Engl J Med. 2017;377(20):1919-1929. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709937Additional ReadingAmerican Cancer Society.Cancer Facts and Figures 2020.Santos ES, Castrellon A, Blaya M, Raez LE.Controversies in the management of stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008;8(12):1913-29. doi:10.1586/14737140.8.12.1913
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.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.2015.08.002American Cancer Society.Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Signs and symptoms of lung cancer.Jordan EJ, Kim HR, Arcila ME, et al.Prospective Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Lung Adenocarcinomas for Efficient Patient Matching to Approved and Emerging Therapies.Cancer Discov. 2017;7(6):596-609. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-16-1337Antonia SJ, Villegas A, Daniel D, et al.Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.N Engl J Med. 2017;377(20):1919-1929. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709937Additional ReadingAmerican Cancer Society.Cancer Facts and Figures 2020.Santos ES, Castrellon A, Blaya M, Raez LE.Controversies in the management of stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008;8(12):1913-29. doi:10.1586/14737140.8.12.1913
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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.2015.08.002American Cancer Society.Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Signs and symptoms of lung cancer.Jordan EJ, Kim HR, Arcila ME, et al.Prospective Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Lung Adenocarcinomas for Efficient Patient Matching to Approved and Emerging Therapies.Cancer Discov. 2017;7(6):596-609. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-16-1337Antonia SJ, Villegas A, Daniel D, et al.Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.N Engl J Med. 2017;377(20):1919-1929. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709937
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.
Jordan EJ, Kim HR, Arcila ME, et al.Prospective Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Lung Adenocarcinomas for Efficient Patient Matching to Approved and Emerging Therapies.Cancer Discov. 2017;7(6):596-609. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-16-1337
Antonia SJ, Villegas A, Daniel D, et al.Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.N Engl J Med. 2017;377(20):1919-1929. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709937
American Cancer Society.Cancer Facts and Figures 2020.Santos ES, Castrellon A, Blaya M, Raez LE.Controversies in the management of stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008;8(12):1913-29. doi:10.1586/14737140.8.12.1913
American Cancer Society.Cancer Facts and Figures 2020.
Santos ES, Castrellon A, Blaya M, Raez LE.Controversies in the management of stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008;8(12):1913-29. doi:10.1586/14737140.8.12.1913
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