There are various treatment options available for lung cancer, based on the size, type, and stage of your lung cancer. Recently a new study has been added to the lung cancer diagnosis process that determines if there are any genetic mutations present, called biomarkers.
Based on each patient’s specific case, the treatments for lung cancer will vary but may include: targeted therapy, immunotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. A combination of these treatment types may be used in your care plan. Clinical research trials for lung cancer may also be available based on your biomarker status.
Surgery is commonly used to treat early stages of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although it may sometimes be used for some early-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), it is rarely used as the primary treatment. That’s because most patients don’t find out they have SCLC until it has metastasized (spread) past the lungs at the time of diagnosis. Lung cancer surgery can involve removing a portion of the lung or the entire lung through procedures such as lobectomy, segmentectomy, wedge resection, and pneumonectomy. It can also include cryotherapy, or freezing of the cancerous cells to kill them.
Even if the lung surgeon removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the operation, you may be given other treatments after surgery to kill any cancer cells that may remain.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Since lung cancer tends to spread quickly throughout the body, chemo is often given as it reaches cancer cells that have extended past the lungs. The way the chemotherapy is given depends upon the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Immunotherapy drugs are used to help the body’s immune system kill cancer cells. Currently, the lung cancer immunotherapy used to treat patients with NSCLC and some patients with advanced SCLC belong to a class called checkpoint inhibitors. Immune checkpoints are molecules on the immune cells that can start or stop an immune response. Your body’s immune system uses these molecules to help determine what cells are foreign (not normal). Cancer cells have found ways around this system by hiding from your body’s natural immune system or by weakening the immune system itself. Immunotherapy drugs allow the immune system to recognize and destroy the cancer cells. Immunotherapy is normally given intravenously (through an IV) every 2 to 3 weeks.
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cells based on their genetic makeup. The biomarker testing that is conducted during the diagnosis and staging process identifies any targeted therapies for NSCLC that may be available. The type of genetic mutation that’s found will direct the first line of treatment that’s recommended. If no biomarkers are found, a different approach will be recommended.
Because of this precision, healthy cells are left alone, reducing the side effects that often come with other types of treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors are three types of targeted therapy being used to treat certain types of lung cancer.
An endoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument used to look at tissues inside the body. An endoscope has a light and a lens for viewing and may be used to place a stent in a body structure to keep the structure open. Endoscopic stent placement can be used to open an airway blocked by abnormal tissue. In some cases, follow-up tests may be needed.
Laser therapy is a cancer treatment that uses a laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) to kill the cancer cells. This treatment is sometimes used to open up the airways of patients whose cancer makes it hard to breathe.
While you are under general anesthesia, the oncologist inserts the laser with a bronchoscope and then aims the beam at the tumor to burn it away. Treatment may be repeated as needed.
There are times when certain tests that were done to diagnose the cancer, or to find out the stage of the cancer, may be repeated. In some cases, it’s to evaluate whether treatment appears to be successful. In others, the results are used to help make decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment. This process is sometimes called re-staging.
Even after treatment has ended, some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time. The results of these tests, sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups, can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has returned.
