Lung Cancer Treatment Options

There are many different treatment options for lung cancer. Several are considered standard treatment options, while others are newer approaches that are becoming more readily available.

Lung cancer treatments are tailored to the individual patient's needs and wishes, so each patient needs to understand their options.

As with most cancer treatments, the choice of therapy is dictated mostly by the cancer type and the disease stage.

Lung Cancer Surgery

There are four main types of surgery used to treat lung cancer:

1. Wedge resection: The surgery to remove a tumor and some of the normal tissue around it is called a wedge resection. If a slightly larger amount of tissue is taken, it is called a segmental resection.
   
   
2. Lobectomy: Surgery to altogether remove one of the five lobes.
   
   
3. Pneumonectomy: The surgery involving the removal of an entire lung is a pneumonectomy.
   
   
4. Sleeve resection: A surgery to remove part of the bronchus is a sleeve resection.

Some patients are given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells once the visible cancer is removed. This process is called adjuvant therapy.

Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other radiation types to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy used to treat non-small cell lung cancer:

• External radiation uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.
  
  
• Internal radiation uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters placed directly into or near the tumor site.

Radiation oncologists can treat tumors present in airways with radiation given directly to the tumor through an endoscope. 

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop cancer cells' growth, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. The way this cancer treatment is administered depends on the type and stage of the lung cancer.

When chemotherapy is injected into a vein or muscle or taken orally (by mouth), the drugs can enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body. This is called systemic chemotherapy.

When chemotherapy is placed directly into a body cavity such as the abdomen, an organ, or the cerebrospinal fluid, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas. This is called regional chemotherapy.

Targeted Therapy

Some non-small cell lung cancer patients can be treated with a category of cancer treatments called targeted therapy. This type of treatment uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Targeted therapies usually cause less harm to normal cells than chemotherapy or radiation therapy. 

Before using targeted therapy the patient is tested for biomarkers that will tell the oncologist which targeted therapy would work best. 

If you do not test positive for a biomarker with an approved targeted therapy, other methods of lung cancer treatment are recommended. Find out more about the types of gene mutations that targeted therapy is approved to treat for NSCLC patients.

Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer

Immunotherapy is a type of biologic therapy. Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment that aids your immune system in fighting cancer.

There are a variety of immunotherapy types, each working in its unique way. Some immunotherapy treatments are designed to help the immune system slow or even stop cancerous cells' growth. Others support the patient's immune system in destroying cancer cells and preventing lung cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.

There are currently two types of immunotherapy used to treat lung cancer - immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive T-cell therapy.

Laser Therapy for Lung Cancer

Laser therapy is a type of lung cancer treatment that uses laser beams to kill lung cancer cells. Because there are so many vital organs and sensitive tissue surrounding the lungs, the precision of laser therapy can be an ideal treatment for some patients.

Laser therapy can be used alone, but most often it is combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

Watchful Waiting

Watchful waiting closely monitors a patient's condition without giving any treatment until signs or symptoms appear or change. Your oncologist may decide on watchful waiting in certain rare cases of non-small cell lung cancer.