Lung Cancer Treatment

A Full Array of Lung Cancer Treatments

Scripps lung cancer treatment experts offer a variety of standard and emerging treatment options for lung cancer. For most patients, treatment will involve a combination of surgery and chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

Clinical trials of new treatment agents may also be available, for eligible patients.

Treatment planning and methods are developed in close consultation with the patient, as well as other members of the patient’s care team. The treatment option usually depends on:

• The patient’s overall health
• Results of pulmonary function tests
• Tumor stage

Targeting cancer, saving healthy tissue

Some newer medications used to treat lung cancer are used to attack cellular processes unique to the cancer. These are called “targeted therapies,” as they have minimal impact on normal tissues.

Select patients with epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations have been found to respond better to targeted therapy than to conventional chemotherapy.