Can lung cancer be cured?

Written by Gong Chun
Oncology
Updated on June 02, 2025
00:00
00:00

Lung cancer is a type of malignant tumor, so whether it can be cured depends on the circumstances and can only be assessed over time. If the patient is eligible for surgery and there is no recurrence or metastasis after the operation, then adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be effective. If the evaluation after treatment shows no recurrence or metastasis and the condition is stable, then naturally, the patient's five-year survival rate will be higher. However, if there is recurrence or metastasis after surgery and the cancer is not very responsive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, then the five-year survival rate will be much lower. The same applies to small cell lung cancer. Generally, small cell lung cancer is more responsive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but if it is not, then the five-year survival rate is also low. Thus, this question can only be addressed by considering the individual's pathology stage, nutritional status, physical condition, cardiopulmonary function, and many other factors. It cannot be broadly answered.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
33sec home-news-image

Is coughing up blood lung cancer?

Patients with lung cancer can experience hemoptysis, but the occurrence of hemoptysis does not necessarily mean that it is caused by lung cancer. Although hemoptysis is a symptom of lung cancer, there are many other diseases that can cause it as well, such as tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, lung abscess, various pneumonias, certain heart diseases, blood disorders, etc. Therefore, it can only be said that hemoptysis may be an indication of lung cancer, not that hemoptysis confirms the presence of lung cancer.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
1min 1sec home-news-image

Does lung cancer cause a dry cough and a feeling of stuffiness?

Lung cancer can present symptoms of chest tightness along with dry cough, or it may simply manifest as dry cough alone. Some early-stage lung cancers might only involve dry cough without other symptoms like chest tightness or breathing difficulties. However, for patients with advanced lung cancer, in addition to dry cough, symptoms may include chest tightness and breathing difficulties. Advanced lung cancer can compress the patient's major airways, leading to narrowing of these airways, and thus cause symptoms such as dry cough and chest tightness. In advanced stages, lung cancer may also be accompanied by a significant accumulation of pleural effusion. In such cases, patients might experience chest tightness and breathing difficulties along with dry cough. Therefore, lung cancer can either solely manifest as dry cough or may also be accompanied by symptoms of chest tightness, particularly in advanced stages, where it is relatively common to have chest tightness along with dry cough.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Gong Chun
Oncology
1min 19sec home-news-image

What causes lung cancer?

Lung cancer is caused by a variety of factors. Research indicates that lung cancer results from a combination of genetic defects, external and internal environmental factors, and personal factors. Numerous studies have confirmed that long-term and heavy smoking is the most significant carcinogenic factor for lung cancer. There is a positive correlation between the amount and duration of smoking and the incidence of lung cancer. The second factor is related to working in asbestos-related industries, which very much relates to the work environment, and also has a certain relation to smog. Indoor environmental pollution is also a very significant carcinogenic factor for lung cancer. This includes smoke from burning coal indoors, fumes from cooking oils in kitchens, and carcinogenic substances released by indoor decorating materials. Fourthly, internal human factors such as the immune status, metabolic abnormalities, genetic factors, and chronic lung infections are also related. The fifth factor involves irregular diet and rest habits, irritating foods, alcohol consumption, and heavy smoking.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yang Feng
Pulmonology
47sec home-news-image

Symptoms of malignant transformation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Firstly, cancer transformation is not the main complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but both COPD and lung cancer share a common cause, which is smoking. Therefore, COPD and lung cancer are generally considered two different diseases, and the symptoms of COPD combined with lung cancer are mainly those of lung cancer, typically including irritating dry cough, blood-streaked sputum, weight loss, etc. Thus, lung imaging studies can be used to preliminarily determine the possibility of cancer in patients, and further diagnostic steps can be chosen based on the patient’s imaging and related symptoms, including biopsy, bronchoscopy, etc.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Gong Chun
Oncology
1min 21sec home-news-image

How is lung cancer detected?

For lung cancer detection, it is recommended for individuals over forty, especially smokers, to undergo a low-dose spiral CT for screening. Secondly, if someone has been a long-term heavy smoker and has undergone chest X-rays and low-dose spiral CT and a lung mass is found, it is suggested that the patient undergo a contrast-enhanced CT or a PET-CT to determine the condition and location of the lung mass. After establishing the condition and location, a sputum cytology test can be conducted. Thirdly, to confirm whether it is lung cancer, one should undergo bronchoscopy to obtain a biopsy, or a transthoracic lung puncture biopsy, or examine live tissue or metastatic lesions, or perform a pleural fluid examination to detect the cancer cells and determine the specific type of lung cancer to guide treatment. However, if the nature of the lesion cannot be clearly determined through mediastinoscopy, bronchoscopy, chest wall puncture biopsy, or other methods, a thoracotomy exploration is recommended. Additionally, the examination of tumor markers cannot be ignored.