Treatment

Lung cancer treatment options

There are several types of treatment options for lung cancer.

Surgery

If your lung cancer is in the earlier stages (stage 1 or 2), you might be offered surgery to remove the tumour, some nearby lung tissue and sometimes lymph nodes. 

The main types of surgery are:

• Wedge resection: Removing a small, wedge-shaped piece of lung tissue.
• Segmentectomy: Removing one or more sections of a lung lobe. This can save healthy tissue. 
• Lobectomy: Removing one or more affected lobes of the lung.
• Pneumonectomy: Removing the entire affected lung.

During surgery, your surgeons will also check nearby lymph nodes to see if the cancer has spread. This is important because you might need more treatment, like chemotherapy or radiation.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other radiation to kill cancer cells and stop them from growing and spreading.

Treatments to try and cure the cancer can take a few weeks. Treatments to help with symptoms might only take a few days. You’ll usually have radiation therapy Monday to Friday.

The main types of radiation therapy include:

• External beam radiation therapy (EBRT): The radiation comes from a machine outside your body, like a focused X-ray.
• Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR) or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT): These are like more precise versions of EBRT. They deliver higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments, usually about four times over a couple of weeks.

Radiation therapy is planned just for you. Your doctor and a radiation specialist will decide the best treatment. Radiation therapy can be used alone or with surgery or chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. It can be given as a tablet, through a needle into your vein or as an injection under the skin or into your muscle. as a tablet. Chemotherapy can be used at different times during your treatment, by itself or with other treatments. Doctors will choose the best combination for you.

Chemotherapy can be used:

• Before surgery: To try and shrink the cancer (neoadjuvant chemotherapy)
• With radiation therapy: To make the radiation work better (chemoradiation)
• After surgery: To lower the chance of the cancer coming back (adjuvant chemotherapy)
• For advanced cancer: To help with symptoms and improve quality of life (palliative chemotherapy)

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapies treat some non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). These therapies use drugs that target specific mutations in cancer cells. You’ll need a molecular test first to see if this treatment can work for you. The most common “targets” in NSCLC are gene changes in EGFR, ALK and ROS1. 

Targeted therapies are usually only prescribed for more advanced or reoccurring lung cancer. However, targeted therapy may also be used in early-stage lung cancer if certain genetic markers are found that make the treatment more likely to work. Targeted therapies are not yet used for small cell lung cancers.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy helps your body’s defence system (immune system) fight cancer. It uses special drugs (checkpoint inhibitors) that can help your immune system attack cancer cells.

Your doctor can test your cancer to see if immunotherapy is a good option. Immunotherapy can be used by itself, with chemotherapy, or after chemotherapy/radiation therapy. Your doctor will decide the best plan for you.

Learn more about immunotherapy:

Fact sheet – What is immunotherapy?

Fact sheet – Immunotherapy and side effects

Webinar –  Immunotherapy treatment and side effects

Podcast – Living with lung cancer: immunotherapy & chemotherapy

Podcast – Living with lung cancer: immunotherapy side effects

Clinical trials for lung cancer

Clinical trials are research studies that test new cancer treatments. You might consider joining a clinical trial even if you have other treatment options, or if other treatments haven’t worked. These trials look at new ways to prevent, find or treat disease, and may involve new drugs, combinations of drugs, surgeries or devices. They can also study how to improve quality of life. Talk to your doctor to see if a clinical trial is right for you.

Palliative care

Palliative care focuses on managing symptoms and improving your quality of life rather than trying to cure your cancer. It can be helpful at any stage of advanced lung cancer, and it doesn’t mean you’re giving up hope. 

The goal is to help you live as well as possible for as long as possible. Treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy can be used in palliative care to help slow the cancer’s spread and control symptoms. A palliative care team includes doctors, nurses and other professionals who can support you and your family’s physical, emotional and other needs.

Multidisciplinary team (MDT)

An MDT is a group of healthcare professionals who are experts in different parts of your treatment. They meet to create and review treatment plans for people with cancer. This helps everyone communicate better and makes sure all treatment options are considered.

Having an MDT is considered the best way to plan and provide cancer care. The benefits can include starting treatments sooner, better chances of survival and easier access to information and support.

Your team might work in different places, like hospitals, clinics and community health centres, and can include:

• Respiratory physician
• Medical oncologist
• Radiation oncologist, radiologist, radiation therapist
• Surgeon
• Palliative care physician
• Lung cancer nurse
• Social worker
• Pharmacist
• Psychologist
• Physiotherapist
• Pathologist and Nuclear Medicine Specialist 

Ask your doctor about your treatment and care. If your hospital doesn’t have a MDT, ask your doctor how you can connect with other health professionals who can help.

Helpful links

• PBAC medicines status website – Search or browse the medicines status website for details about medicines that have been or will be considered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).