Lung Cancer Treatment Options

Lung Cancer Treatment Options

At diagnosis, patients can be divided into 3 treatment groups based on the stage of the 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.

Four types of standard treatment are used:

Surgery

Three types of surgery are used:

  • -Wedge resection: A surgical procedure to remove a triangle-shaped slice of tissue. It may be used to remove a tumor and a small amount of normal tissue around it.
  • -Lobectomy: A surgical procedure to remove a whole lobe (section) of the lung.
  • -Pneumonectomy: Surgery to remove one whole lung.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer.

Radiosurgery is a method of delivering radiation directly to the tumor with little damage to healthy tissue. It does not involve surgery and may be used to treat certain tumors in patients who cannot have surgery.

The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Laser therapy

Laser therapy is a cancer treatment that uses a laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) to kill cancer cells.

Other types of treatment and prevention are being tested in clinical trials. These include the following:

Photodynamic therapy (PDT)

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment that uses a drug and a certain type of laser light to kill cancer cells. A drug that is not active until it is exposed to light is injected into a vein. The drug collects more in cancer cells than in normal cells. Fiberoptic tubes are then used to deliver the laser light to the cancer cells, where the drug becomes active and kills the cells. Photodynamic therapy causes little damage to healthy tissue. It is used mainly to treat tumors on or just under the skin or in the lining of internal organs, such as the lungs and the esophagus.

Chemoprevention

Chemoprevention is the use of drugs, vitamins, or other substances to reduce the risk of developing cancer or to reduce the risk cancer will recur (come back).

New treatments

New combinations of treatments are being studied in clinical trials.



Lung Cancer Treatment News

18 Mar 2008 at 1:00am
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) -- an interventional treatment that "cooks" and kills lung cancer tumors with heat -- greatly improves survival time from primary or metastatic inoperable lung tumors, according to a study released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.
14 Apr 2008 at 2:51am
OnApril 11, 2008, an announcement by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) indicated that European health authorities have approved theuse of ALIMTAŽ (pemetrexed for injection) for a histologically-baseduse in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer.
19 May 2008 at 10:00pm
(Massachusetts General Hospital) The first US clinical trial using genetic screening to identify lung tumors likely to respond to targeted therapies supports the use of those drugs as first-line treatment rather than after standard chemotherapy has failed.
9 Mar 2008 at 10:00pm
A study by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney is the first to demonstrate that in patients with very mild or well-controlled asthma, regular treatment with low dose ICS leads to significantly better day-to-day lung function.
25 Apr 2008 at 7:00am
A groundbreaking free tool to help oncologists choose the best therapies for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer has been launched this week by scientists at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
11 Mar 2008 at 3:59am
Doctors from around the UK are taking part in one of the world's largest lung cancer clinical trials investigating how a blood thinning drug might help prevent blood clots in lung cancer patients.
21 Apr 2008 at 2:30am
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that European health authorities have approved the use of ALIMTAŽ (pemetrexed for injection) for a histologically-based use in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer.
24 Apr 2008 at 10:00pm
(European Society for Medical Oncology) A groundbreaking free tool to help oncologists choose the best therapies for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer has been launched this week by scientists at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Geneva, Switzerland.
15 Apr 2008 at 2:30am
Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL) announced that Dr. Intae Lee with the University of Pennsylvania has reported that Alfacell's ONCONASE (ranpirnase) could be a promising radiation sensitizer for lung cancer treatment. Dr.
20 May 2008 at 7:00am
The goal of developing reliable genetic tests to guide lung cancer treatment has taken a step forward. Researchers at Columbia University recently evaluated the ability of five high-risk genetic profiles, or signatures, to predict the likelihood that cancer would recur in patients whose non-small cell lung cancer was caught early and surgically removed.
25 Apr 2008 at 2:47am
An experimental vaccine that works by training the immune system to kill specific tumor cells is showing promise for the treatment of early lung cancer, researchers report.
27 Mar 2008 at 7:00am
Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced that Amrubicin has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
1 May 2008 at 2:47am
Vicus Therapeutics, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology supportive care, announced today the completion of the last patient visit in its study VT1-CAX-001, a Phase 2 trial of VT-122. The compound was tested for the treatment of cachexia in weight losing subjects with Stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
28 Apr 2008 at 10:00pm
A less traumatic way of delivering surfactant, a lung lubricant that premature babies need to help them breathe, could reduce the incidence of respiratory problems they'll have later, Medical College of Georgia physicians say.
3 Apr 2008 at 10:00pm
Experts from around the world are gathering in Geneva next month at a new conference that aims to improve lung cancer treatment and answer unsolved questions about a disease that kills 1.5 million people each year.