New here

carolb447
carolb447 Member Posts: 4 Member
in Lung Cancer #1

I was diagnosed with stage 1b adenocarcinoma of the upper right lung. Tumor was 1.3 cm, poorly differentiated with visceral pleural invasion, no nodes involved. I had a segmendectomy 2 weeks ago. I was told by my surgeon I will need to have chemo and or immunotherapy, haven’t seen the oncologist yet. In my research for this type of cancer, there are conflicting opinions as to the benefit of chemo, as studies show does not affect outcomes . Anyone else have similar experience and what was the outcome.

Comments

  • eDivebuddy
    eDivebuddy Member Posts: 108 Member
    edited March 23 #2

    I was also diagnosed with adenocarcinoma—mine was stage IVB. Luckily, I’ve been given a lot of time to look into outcomes based on pathology and treatment.

    Poorly differentiated means the cancer cells look less like normal lung cells under the microscope. This usually suggests more aggressive behavior and a higher risk of recurrence, even if the tumor is small and no lymph nodes are involved.

    Visceral pleural invasion (VPI) means the cancer has grown into or beyond the lining of the lung. Like poor differentiation, it’s considered a high-risk feature and is associated with increased risk of recurrence and metastasis.

    I had both poorly differentiated tumor cells and VPI, just like you. Even though my cancer was advanced by the time it was found, I’ve learned how important these features are even in early-stage cases.

    When looking at 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) for stage 1B:

    Surgery alone: DFS with features like poor differentiation or VPI, it may drop to 60–70% down from up to 80%

    Adjuvant chemo: Can add about a 5% improvement in DFS

    Immunotherapy: Not FDA-approved for stage 1B tumors <4 cm, but if a clinical trial is available, it can offer remarkable benefits

    In tumors with any PD-L1 expression, adjuvant immunotherapy (as monotherapy after surgery) has reduced recurrence by 9–18% in stage 1B to 3A NSCLC

    For some, it’s an incredibly hard decision—5% might seem like a small gain, but with the aggressive features of your tumor, it’s definitely worth serious consideration. These decisions are personal, but you're not alone in weighing the risks and benefits.

Discussion Boards