Stage 4 adenocarcinoma is an advanced form of lung cancer. This type of cancer usually starts in the lungs’ airways (bronchi) and may spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, liver or bones.
Treatment for stage 4 adenocarcinoma depends on how far the cancer has spread and whether the cancer cells have mutated. Your doctor will work with you to determine the best treatment for your situation and stage of cancer.
Your prognosis, or how likely you are to survive, will depend on many factors, such as your cancer type, age, health and the amount of time since your diagnosis. A good prognosis can result in longer survival, less pain, and a better quality of life.
The most common types of lung cancer are adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma usually starts in the lining of the airways (bronchi) and is more common in people who smoke.
Surgical removal of the tumor is the first step in treating adenocarcinoma at stage 4. The next steps are chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapies.
If the cancer hasn’t mutated or responded to treatment, your healthcare team will likely recommend palliative care. This means they will help you manage symptoms and pain so that you can live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible.
Your health care team will use your tumor’s size and whether it has spread (metastasized) to nearby tissues or organs to calculate your stage of lung cancer, which is based on the TNM classification system. Your doctor will also look at how well your cancer has responded to treatments and your overall health.
There are several different methods of calculating the TNM stage of adenocarcinoma, which can include the results of physical exams, medical history and x-rays or scans of your tumor and surrounding area. Your doctor will also use information from biopsy samples of your tumor.
During surgery, your doctor will remove any cancer that has spread to other areas of the body, called metastases. They will also remove any lymph nodes that have been affected by the cancer.
In some cases, your doctor will take a sample of your tumor to test for any genetic changes. If they find any, you may be referred for additional testing to look for certain gene mutations that can increase the likelihood of your lung cancer coming back after treatment.
Your doctor will also look at other factors, such as your age and gender. Women and nonsmokers with this type of cancer have a better prognosis than men or smokers, according to 2015 research.
Some types of lung cancer are more likely to spread than others, depending on how aggressive they are. For example, some lung cancers are more likely to spread to the brain or liver than others. This is because these cancers tend to have more aggressive tumors that have a high chance of spreading to these organs, according to the National Cancer Institute.
