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Lung cancer, like other types of cancer, can spread beyond the lung to other areas of the body. When cancer cells form tumors in other places, these are called “metastatic cancers” or “metastases.”
Lung cancer cells that leave the lungs to form tumors elsewhere tend to travel to specific sites, including:
- Other lung
- Brain
- Bones
- Liver
- Adrenal glands
If you receive a lung cancer diagnosis, your doctor likely will screen you right away for possible metastases. You probably also will undergo periodic re-screenings so your doctor can catch any metastases as early as possible. If your lung cancer has metastasized, you may be offered additional treatment options. Here are a few things to know.
How Metastatic Lung Cancer Is Diagnosed
As soon as you are diagnosed with a primary lung tumor, your oncologist (cancer doctor) probably will screen you for metastatic tumors using lab work and imaging studies. Lab tests can detect certain hormone elevations that could indicate whether or not your cancer has spread to the liver or adrenal glands. Imaging studies can provide visual evidence of tumors.
The most common imaging test for cancer is the positron emission tomography (PET) scan. These devices resemble CT scan machines. In this test, you will be injected with a small amount of radioactive tracer material. This material will highlight cancer cells throughout your body. Once the tracer has had time to circulate through your bloodstream, you will lie flat on a table that travels through the imaging machine and scans you from head to toe.
Symptoms of Metastatic Lung Cancer
Even if your initial examination shows your cancer has not spread, it still could metastasize in the future. If this happens, you could experience symptoms that relate to the site where the cancer has metastasized. Your symptoms could include:
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Shortness of breath, when cancer invades the tissue surrounding the lungs, or your cancer spreads to the other lung
- Headaches, when cancerous tumors form in the brain
- Bone pain, if lung cancer metastasizes to the bones
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Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes when lung cancer spreads to the liver
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Unusual fatty deposits on the shoulders or the back of the neck, if your lung cancer invades an adrenal gland
In its early stages, metastatic cancer often does not produce any symptoms. This is why many lung cancer patients undergo routine, periodic screenings to check for new tumors.
Treatment for Metastatic Lung Cancer
Depending on where your lung cancer has spread, your doctor may offer you several different types of treatment. These include:
- Surgery to remove metastatic tumors, if possible
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Targeted therapy to exploit certain specific abnormalities in different types of cancer cells. For example, if your cancer has a mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), then your oncologist may recommend a type of therapy that can block this kind of tumor’s ability to grow.
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Chemotherapy, which generally consists of taking one or more medications by mouth or through infusions into your bloodstream
- Immunotherapy that boosts your own immune system’s ability to fight the cancer
- Palliative care to treat the pain of cancer and the side effects of treatment
Current treatments cannot cure metastatic lung cancer. Treatments aim to prolong life when possible and to create the highest possible quality of life for the affected person and his or her family members. As cancer research continues to progress, researchers move closer and closer to targeted therapies that can halt metastatic lung cancers and ultimately result in a cure for this disease.
