Thoracic tumors are all tumors found in the thorax. The most common is lung cancer, but mesotheliomas, thymomas, sarcomas, etc. can also be found to a lesser extent.
The main tumor of the thorax is lung cancer, mainly caused by tobacco consumption. Specialists in Medical Oncology affirm that smoking is the main cause of thorax tumors.
This type of tumor affects each patient in a different way, since depending on the type of tumor, some symptoms appear or others.
In general, thoracic tumors present pain, cough, unexplained weight loss, asthenia and loss of appetite. They can also produce dysphagia if they are close to the esophagus or hiccups when they involve the phrenic nerve. Paraneoplastic symptoms may also appear, which are totally non-specific symptoms produced by substances produced by the tumor.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a type of slow-growing thoracic tumor that arises mainly from the pleura. Asbestos is clearly involved in its etiology, being the main factor implicated in its development.
Treatment of thoracic tumors
Most patients are not candidates for surgery, so this type of tumor is treated with polychemotherapy. However, extrapleural pneumonectomy in selected patients is the treatment of choice.
Currently, there are new innovative treatments in this field. Mesotheliomas are in the development of targeted therapies, in which specific mutations are sought for treatment with mutation-selective drugs. The use of immunotherapy is also being evaluated in this type of patient with promising results.