Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancers
Treating Lung Cancer
Lung cancer treatment depends on several factors, including the type and stage of the lung cancer and your overall health. The main treatment options are surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. New treatments are also showing promise.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC):
- Non-small cell lung cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.
- Stage I NSCLC (small tumor in the middle of the lung) is primarily treated with surgery. For patients who for health reasons cannot undergo surgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy may be an excellent alternative. It is non-invasive and is usually given in one to five treatments.
- Stage II NSCLC (larger tumors, extension outside of the lung itself, or early involvement of lymph nodes) is treated with surgery, followed by chemotherapy. Stereotactic body radiation therapy has not been well studied for these tumors, and conventional external beam radiation therapy would commonly be recommended for patients who for health reasons cannot undergo surgery.
- Stage III NSCLC (tumor extending into other organs or involvement of lymph nodes in the middle of the chest) can be treated in several different ways. For some patients, initial chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery is a reasonable approach. For other patients, definitive chemoradiation therapy without surgery is preferred. The radiation typically takes six to several weeks.
- Stage IV NSCLC (tumor has spread from the lungs, and involves other locations such as the brain, the bone or the liver) is usually treated with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is used for local control of tumor to prevent symptoms such as pain or neurological dysfunction similar to stroke and typically lasts one to two weeks.
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC):
- Small cell lung cancer most often is treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
- Limited stage SCLC is disease confined to the chest. It roughly corresponds to Stage I-III for NSCLC above. It is primarily treated with simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation to the chest. Because there is a high rate of microscopic tumor deposits to the brain, giving radiation therapy to the brain (prophylactic cranial irradiation) is frequently offered after completion of the primary chemoradiation therapy to the chest. This is to kill any tiny cancer cells that may have spread to the brain.
- Extensive stage SCLC is metastatic disease, and corresponds to Stage IV NSCLC above. It is primarily treated with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is used for local control of tumor to prevent symptoms such as pain or neurological dysfunction similar to stroke and typically takes one to two weeks of treatment.
In addition to your radiation oncologist and primary care physicians, several different healthcare professionals will be involved in your care.
- Thoracic surgeons are physicians who use surgery to remove cancerous tumors and tissue from the chest. They usually have specialized training in cancer surgery.
- Medical oncologists are doctors who specialize in treating cancer using various chemotherapy drugs.
