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What treatment is available for Non small cell lung cancer?
Non-small cell lung cancer that can be treated with surgery.
Stage 0, stage I, and stage II non-small cell lung cancer can often be removed by surgery. Radiation therapy may be used to treat patients who have other medical problems and cannot have surgery.
Non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or to lymph nodes.
Non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or to lymph nodes can be treated with one of the following:
- Radiation therapy alone.
- Radiation therapy and chemotherapy or other kinds of treatment.
- Surgery alone.
Non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or to another lobe of the lungs.
Radiation therapy may be used as palliative therapy to shrink the cancer and to relieve pain in patients who have non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy may be used to treat some patients.
What treatment is available for small cell lung cancer?
There are different types of treatment for patients with small cell lung cancer.
Different types of treatment are available for patients with small cell lung cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. Before starting treatment, patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Treatment of limited-stage small cell lung cancer may include the following:
- Combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the chest, with or without radiation therapy to the brain.
- Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain in patients with complete response.
- Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the chest.
- Surgery followed by chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus radiation therapy to the chest, with or without radiation therapy to the brain.
- Clinical trials of new chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments.
This summary refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from NCI Cancer.gov Web site.
Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer
Treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer may include the following:
- Chemotherapy.
- Combination chemotherapy.
- Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain for patients with complete response.
- Radiation therapy to the brain, spine, bone, or other parts of the body where the cancer has spread, as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
- Clinical trials of new chemotherapy treatments.
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