LAM Treatment

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LAM is a progressive disease, meaning it gets worse over time. There is no cure for LAM, but there are effective medicines that can help relieve LAM symptoms and prevent complications. Oxygen therapy or a lung transplant may also be treatment options.

Your healthcare provider may prescribe medicines to open up your airways and make it easier for you to breathe.

• Bronchodilators are medicines that can help relax the muscles around the airways if you are wheezing or having trouble breathing.
• Sirolimus is a type of medicine called an mTOR inhibitor. Sirolimus may help control the abnormal growth and movement of LAM cells. The medicine may also help lung function, shrink kidney and lymph node growths, and reduce fluid in your lungs. Side effects can include diarrhea, nausea, acne, high blood cholesterol, swelling of your mouth and lips, and fluid buildup in your legs. Sirolimus may also affect your ovaries, liver, and kidneys and raise your risk of infections.

Sirolimus is the only drug approved for the treatment of LAM by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Everolimus, a different mTOR inhibitor approved by the FDA for treating benign brain tumors associated with TSC, is also sometimes used to treat LAM. Talk with your provider about the benefits and risks of sirolimus and everolimus and whether either medicine is an option for you.

Your healthcare provider may recommend oxygen therapy to increase the amount of oxygen your lungs receive and deliver to your blood. At first, you may only need oxygen therapy during high-energy activities. It may also be helpful while sleeping. Eventually, you may need full-time oxygen therapy.

Learn more about oxygen therapy on our Lung Disease Treatments page.

Some people with severe lung damage from advanced LAM may be eligible for a lung transplant.

Learn more about lung transplants on our Lung Disease Treatments page.