Lung Cancer Treatment and Prevention: Q&A with Dr. Azeem Elahi, Pulmonologist
Lung cancer care has changed a great deal in recent years. Advances in screening, testing and treatment are offering patients more options than ever. That progress is changing the conversation from “What is the treatment for lung cancer?” to “What is the right treatment for my cancer?”
For pulmonologist Dr. Azeem Elahi with CaroMont Pulmonary Medicine, helping patients understand those options is central to his work. He takes time to explain each diagnosis clearly, answer every question and make sure patients and families feel informed and supported at each step. He believes patients who understand their care are better prepared to make decisions with confidence. Here, Dr. Elahi shares what he wants patients and families to know, whether you are newly diagnosed, caring for a loved one or working to protect your own lung health.
Q: In your opinion, what has changed in the options available to patients who are newly diagnosed with lung cancer?
A: The biggest change is that we can personalize treatment much more precisely. Lung cancer is not one single disease. Two patients may have cancers that look similar on a scan but benefit from very different treatments.
Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy remain important, but targeted therapies and immunotherapies have significantly expanded our options. Some of these treatments are also used before or after surgery to help reduce the risk of cancer returning.
Those advances make getting an accurate diagnosis, and the right amount of biopsy samples, more important than ever. Our robotic bronchoscopy technology helps us navigate through airways to reach deep into the lung to biopsy suspicious nodules. We can often combine this with ultrasound-guided sampling of nearby lymph nodes during the same procedure, helping us diagnose the cancer and determine its stage.
As an interventional pulmonologist, I see that diagnostic step as the bridge between finding an abnormality and choosing the right treatment. The samples we collect can help reveal the cancer’s unique characteristics and guide our oncology colleagues toward a personalized treatment plan.
Q: How do targeted therapy and immunotherapy work, and who is a good candidate for each?
A: Targeted therapies act on specific changes within cancer cells that help those cells grow. I often describe these changes as a growth switch stuck in the “on” position. When testing identifies a change we have a treatment for, a targeted medication can help block that signal. Many of these medications are taken as pills.
The key is finding the right match. These treatments are particularly important in certain non-small cell lung cancers, and we use biomarker testing to determine whether a patient’s cancer has a targetable change.
Immunotherapy works differently. Cancer cells can use signals that prevent the immune system from attacking them. The immunotherapies commonly used for lung cancer help release those immune-system “brakes”, allowing the body’s defenses to recognize and attack the cancer.
To choose treatment, the oncology team considers the cancer’s type and stage, its genetic changes, markers such as PD-L1 and the patient’s overall health. Some patients receive immunotherapy alone; others receive it with chemotherapy.
Q: How have these advances changed the outlook for patients diagnosed today?
A: They have given us more opportunities to help people live longer and, for many patients, maintain a better quality of life. Some patients with advanced lung cancer now experience years of disease control. For certain patients with earlier-stage disease, newer treatments can reduce the chance of recurrence.
These treatments do not work for everyone, and lung cancer remains a serious diagnosis. But the outlook has improved meaningfully, and we have more options when we sit down with a patient and their family.
Early detection remains essential. When we find lung cancer before it spreads, we have the greatest opportunity to treat it with the goal of cure.
Q: What are the best ways to help prevent lung cancer?
A: The most effective step is to avoid smoking, and if you currently smoke, to quit. Quitting helps at any age. Nicotine dependence is a medical condition, and patients deserve support, practical tools and treatment without judgment.
Other important steps include avoiding secondhand smoke, testing your home for radon and following workplace precautions around cancer-causing substances such as asbestos.
I also encourage people with a smoking history to ask whether they qualify for lung cancer screening. Screening uses a low-dose CT scan to look for cancer before symptoms develop. It does not prevent cancer from forming, but it can find it earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful.
Finally, lung cancer can affect people who have never smoked. Persistent or changing symptoms, such as a cough that does not go away, coughing up blood or unexplained weight loss, deserve medical evaluation.
Questions Are Where Care Begins
For Dr. Elahi, every patient conversation is a chance to teach. He encourages patients and families to bring their questions to every visit, and he takes the time to answer them, because he believes understanding your lung health is the first step toward making confident decisions about your care. Whether you have a new diagnosis, a cough that won’t go away or a history of smoking, you don’t have to wait for answers. Ask your provider whether lung cancer screening is right for you, and share any symptoms that persist. To learn more about Dr. Elahi or lung care with CaroMont Pulmonary Medicine, visit our website.