The treatment of choice for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is surgery, but this does not mean that surgery is the only option; there are treatments other than surgery. If you have poor heart and lung function and cannot tolerate surgery, your doctor will consider other approaches.
Stereotactic radiation therapy
Many older adults find small peripheral lung cancers on physical exams, and they grow slowly, perhaps doubling in size in a year or two. For such patients, doctors can remove the tumor with a special precision radiotherapy technique, Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), or Gamma Knife or Ar-He knife.
Will this not “burn” cleanly? In fact, for early-stage peripheral small lung cancer in elderly patients, stereotactic radiation therapy and other modalities can be comparable to surgery. If your doctor determines that you have difficulty tolerating the procedure or anesthesia, or cannot lose any more lung tissue, this is a more appropriate treatment.
If you want to learn more about these treatments, see:
Other treatments
In addition, there are other treatments for lung cancer, such as targeted therapy and chemotherapy.
Targeted therapy, as the name implies, is the presence of mutated sites in the tumor that are different from normal cells, and these sites can be used as “targets” for drugs that work on cancer cells without killing normal cells. The common mutation sites include EGFR, ALK, ROS-1, etc., for which there are currently targeted drugs.
If you want to learn more about targeted therapies, see:
So if your doctor assesses that you are too risky or even doing more harm than good to undergo surgery, other treatments will be considered to restrain the tumor, prolong life, and improve quality of life.
Co-reviewed by: Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute Dr. Xie Liang, deputy chief physician Dr. Dong Song Dr. Zheng Shaopeng
Co-authors: Dr. Wang Xing, Peking University Cancer Hospital