Key takeaways:
- Northwestern Medicine in Chicago announced a breakthrough treatment for late-stage lung cancer on Wednesday.
- Two patients with stage IV lung cancer, who had been told they had weeks or months to live, are now breathing freely after receiving double lung transplants.
- The two patients are now recovering and are expected to make a full recovery, and this novel treatment could be a potential game-changer for people with late-stage lung cancer.
Northwestern Medicine in Chicago announced a breakthrough treatment for late-stage lung cancer on Wednesday. Two patients with stage IV lung cancer, who had been told they had weeks or months to live, are now breathing freely after receiving double lung transplants.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. When the cancer spreads from one lung to the other and does not respond to standard treatments, including radiation and chemotherapy, patients are typically left with no options.
The two patients, Albert Khoury, 55, of Chicago, and another unnamed patient, were diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in early 2020. Despite two rounds of chemotherapy, the cancer had spread to the other lung.
A double lung transplantation offers a potentially lifesaving option for some people with a poor prognosis, but doctors say there are specific criteria that must be met for the procedure to be successful. The Northwestern Medicine team was able to use knowledge learned during the Covid pandemic to successfully perform the double lung transplantations.
The two patients are now recovering and are expected to make a full recovery. Northwestern Medicine says this novel treatment could be a potential game-changer for people with late-stage lung cancer.
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