Increasing fiber in your diet helps improve health - Photo: FREEPIK
The disease is often detected at a late stage, after metastasis has occurred, resulting in limited treatment effectiveness, low survival rates, and high mortality rates, despite significant advances in diagnosis and treatment in recent years.
Shocked to be diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer.
With a history of cirrhosis and a long-standing habit of smoking and drinking alcohol, Mr. H. has just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, with brain metastasis and a gene mutation.
Mr. H. was prescribed gamma radiation therapy to control brain metastases, and tests were conducted to assess his response to immunotherapy. If it is not suitable, the family is considering targeted therapy.
Meanwhile, Ms. T., who had no history of smoking, was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of persistent cough and unexplained weight loss.
Based on the results of histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biological tests, the patient was diagnosed with suspected stage 3 lung cancer. The patient is currently being treated with targeted therapy at a dose of 3 pills per day, with an estimated monthly cost of approximately 25 million VND.
Another case is that of Mr. DK's mother, who was diagnosed with lung cancer about 10 months before she passed away. Prior to that, Mr. K's mother underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, but because she was too tired and couldn't tolerate it anymore, she switched to taking traditional herbal medicine.
After more than a month, her condition worsened, with increased pain and progressively worsening shortness of breath. When K.'s mother was readmitted to the hospital, the tumor had grown rapidly, from 7cm to 15cm, and the hospital was no longer able to provide treatment.
Just nearly two months after being diagnosed with stage 3C lung cancer with a gene mutation, Mr. P.'s father passed away, leaving his family in shock and unable to accept the news. Family members said that despite being prescribed a treatment regimen and using targeted therapy drugs, the patient's condition progressed rapidly, causing him to become emaciated, lose his appetite, and ultimately pass away.
Localized small cell lung cancer is a rapidly progressing form of the disease, prone to metastasis, and with a poor prognosis. Meanwhile, stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer, which is inoperable, accounts for approximately 15-20% of all cases and is a complex, difficult-to-treat disease that places a significant economic burden, with estimated late-stage treatment costs in Vietnam exceeding 684 billion VND in 2020.
A large crowd of patients wait for examination at the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital - Photo: Xuan Mai
Filling the "gap" in treatment for late-stage lung cancer.
On weekends, the Tri An ward cemetery ( Dong Nai City) is filled with mothers bringing their children and grandchildren to visit the graves of their deceased loved ones. In one plot of land, there are nearly a dozen newly dug graves, still shrouded in incense smoke, and two-thirds of the deceased passed away in their 60s, all from the same disease: terminal lung cancer.
"My father was big and strong, a well driller. No one thought he would pass away so quickly, just two and a half months after being diagnosed with the disease," T. (37 years old) recounted while cleaning the grave of her unfortunate father.
According to Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, the rate of late-stage lung cancer detection remains very high. Statistics show that 84% of late-stage lung cancer patients seek medical attention, while only about 16% are in the early stages. This leads to less effective treatment and a low survival rate.
Explaining this situation, Dr. Tuan said that not only lung cancer but also liver cancer and breast cancer have 50-80% of cases detected at a late stage.
The main reason is that people haven't paid enough attention to their health, while the rate of annual routine health checkups remains low. Without screening, diseases are very difficult to detect in the early stages when there are no clear symptoms.
Dr. Le Tuan Anh, Director of the Oncology Center at Cho Ray Hospital, said that lung cancer is one of the three most common types of cancer, frequently affecting both sexes. The majority of patients in Vietnam are diagnosed at a late stage, with up to 41% diagnosed at stage 4, while stage 1A accounts for only about 14%.
Early detection is crucial to treatment outcomes. The five-year survival rate for stage 1A can be as high as 92%, while it drops significantly in stage 4B.
"Lung cancer receives significant attention from the scientific community, not only in the field of oncology but also from related specialties such as respiratory medicine, diagnostic imaging, and molecular biology," said Dr. Tuan Anh, adding that collaboration between surgeons, internists, radiologists, nutritionists, and nurses is "key" to improving treatment quality, alongside the application of artificial intelligence and new technologies.
Elaborating further on lung cancer treatment methods, Dr. Tuan stated that for stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer that is inoperable, the current treatment standard is concurrent chemoradiotherapy, followed by possible maintenance with immunotherapy.
However, in patients with EGFR mutations (a type of non-small cell lung cancer), the response to immunotherapy is limited, creating a significant gap in strategies for consolidating long-term disease control. Furthermore, small cell lung cancer accounts for approximately 15% of lung cancers, and most are detected at an advanced stage; only a very small number of patients are diagnosed at the localized stage.
Opportunity for radical treatment
"With targeted and immunotherapy treatments, lung cancer patients who are detected before stage 3 have a good chance of being cured."
"Even in late stage 4, these two methods still show significant effectiveness in extending the disease-free period and improving survival time to 33 months, compared to only about 8-9 months with conventional chemotherapy," Dr. Tuan informed.
What can be done to reduce the risk of lung cancer?
Given the prevalence of lung cancer and the burden of the disease, Associate Professor Tran Van Ngoc - President of the Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Society - listed several ways to reduce the risk of lung cancer, including:
Stop smoking.
Avoid contact with toxic substances such as asbestos, radon, benzene, etc.
Improve nutrition: a healthy diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and reduce consumption of processed foods, fast food, and burnt fried or grilled foods.
Exercise regularly.
Balancing work and life, and avoiding stress, can reduce the risk of lung cancer and other diseases.
If you have high-risk factors including:
Those with a family history of lung cancer, current smokers, those exposed to toxic substances, and those with COPD or interstitial lung disease over the age of 50 or with symptoms should undergo regular health checkups for early detection of lung cancer and other diseases.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-benh-ung-thu-phoi-phat-hien-muon-20260505090047678.htm
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