Surgery
Most stage I and stage II non-small cell lung cancers are treated with surgery to remove the tumor. For this procedure, a surgeon removes the lobe, or section, of the lung containing the tumor.
Some surgeons use video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). For this procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision, or cut, in the chest and inserts a tube called a thoracoscope. The thoracoscope has a light and a tiny camera connected to a video monitor so that the surgeon can see inside the chest. A lung lobe can then be removed through the scope, without making a large incision in the chest.
Chemotherapy and Radiation
For people with non-small cell lung tumors that can be surgically removed, evidence suggests that chemotherapy after surgery, known as “adjuvant chemotherapy,” may help prevent the cancer from returning. This is particularly true for patients with stage II and IIIA disease. Questions remain about whether adjuvant chemotherapy applies to other patients and how much they benefit.
For people with stage III lung cancer that cannot be removed surgically, doctors typically recommend chemotherapy in combination with definitive (high-dose) radiation treatments. In stage IV lung cancer, chemotherapy is typically the main treatment. In stage IV patients, radiation is used only for palliation of symptoms.
The chemotherapy treatment plan for lung cancer often consists of a combination of drugs. Among the drugs most commonly used are cisplatin (Platinol) or carboplatin (Paraplatin) plus docetaxel (Taxotere), gemcitabine (Gemzar), paclitaxel (Taxol and others), vinorelbine (Navelbine and others), or pemetrexed (Alimta).
There are times when these treatments may not work. Or, after these drugs work for a while, the lung cancer may come back. In such cases, doctors often prescribe a second course of drug treatment referred to as second-line chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy Before Other Treatments (Neoadjuvant Treatment)
Receiving chemotherapy before radiation or surgery may help people with lung cancer by shrinking the tumor enough to make it easier to remove with surgery, increasing the effectiveness of radiation and destroying hidden cancer cells at the earliest possible time.
If a tumor doesn’t shrink with chemotherapy, the medication can be stopped right away, allowing the doctor to try a different treatment. In addition, research shows that people with lung cancer are much more able to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy when it is given before surgery.
Sometimes, a short trial period of treatment with the drug shrinks the tumor before surgery. If that is the case, then continued treatment with the same drug after surgery is more likely to benefit the patient. Because many lung cancer specialists around the world are giving chemotherapy to their patients before surgery, patients should discuss it with their doctor.