Non-small cell lung cancer treatment options largely depend upon the stage of cancer. Associate factors such as the overall health of the patient, state of the lung function, and specific characteristics of the cancer itself may also play an important role in determining the non-small cell lung cancer treatment options. Broadly, non-small cell lung cancer treatment options have been briefly described as follows:
Surgery
Early stages of cancers such as Stage I and II non-small cell lung cancers can be usually treated by surgery in which the tumor is removed by a surgical procedure involving the removal of the lobe or the section of the lung containing cancer. Relatively non-invasive surgical procedures like VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) may also be used where a tube called a thoracoscope is inserted in the chest via a small incision which is then used to remove the tumor without making a large incision. The tumor is located and seen by the surgeon using a camera and light attached to the thoracoscope.
Radiation and chemotherapy
For stage III and stage IV non-small cell lung cancer, the treatment options are usually limited to radiation and chemotherapy. For a stage III cancer where surgery is not possible, chemotherapy in combination with a high dose definitive radiation therapy may be prescribed. For stage IV cancer, chemotherapy is usually prescribed as the main treatment while a radiation may be used for palliation of symptoms. Even in cases where the tumor has been surgically removed, post-surgery chemotherapy, also known as adjuvant chemotherapy, may be prescribed to prevent cancer from recurring.
Neoadjuvant treatment
In Neoadjuvant treatment, chemotherapy may be prescribed prior to other treatments such as radiation or surgery in order to shrink the tumor to make it easier to remove it via surgery, to make radiation more effective, or to simply destroy the hidden cancer cells quickly and effectively. The advantage of this treatment is that in case it doesn’t work such that the tumor doesn’t shrink, the doctors can immediately switch to other forms of treatment.
Targeted treatments
Among the latest developments in the non-small cell lung cancer treatment options, targeted treatments are undoubtedly the most important ones. Unlike the chemotherapy drugs that do not distinguish between healthy and cancer cells and destroys all kinds of cells equally leading to several serious side effects, targeted treatments are designed to attack only the cancer cells. Advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer may be treated using targeted drugs alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Some of the most common targeted drugs include Bevacizumab, Gefitinib, Erlotinib, and Ceritinib.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is more recent and is still evolving among non-small cell lung cancer treatment options; however, it has shown promising results mostly because it is much better tolerated than other cancer treatment options as it uses a patient’s own immune system to fight against cancer. FDA-approved immunotherapy options include nivolumab and pembrolizumab, while a host of other approaches that have shown promise in early clinical trials are currently in late phase of its development as a treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer.
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