What Are the Treatments for Advanced Lung Cancer?

Advanced lung cancer refers to stage IV lung cancer that has spread beyond the lungs or metastasized to other parts of the body. Because advanced lung cancer generally can't be cured, treatments focus on pain management, alleviating symptoms and extending longevity.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy is usually recommended for most patients with stage IV lung cancer. Chemotherapy can help slow the growth of the cancer both in the lungs and at the sites of metastases. Bevacizumab, with a brand name of Avastin, and cetuximab, with the brand name Erbitux, are two chemotherapy drugs commonly used in treating patients with advanced lung cancer, although bevacizumab can't be used on patients who have a tendency towards excessive bleeding. Other drugs may be used or a combination of different chemotherapy agents, depending on how well a patient responds to drug treatment.

Radiation

• Radiation is also useful at killing cancer cells. Radiation is usually used in patients who are unable to withstand chemotherapy or who do not respond to chemotherapy. In addition, in rare cases where the metastases is limited to one site outside the lungs (usually the brain), radiation may actually be able to successfully treat stage IV lung cancer by eliminating the cancer cells from the site of metastases. A process of stereotactic radiation, which uses a Gamma Knife to administer radiation to cancer cells in the brain, is usually used in these situations.

Treating Metastases

• Depending on the specific site of metastases, treatments may be administered which are designed to administer and resolve the specific symptoms associated with the presence of cancer at that site. For example, cancer that has metastasized to the liver may be treated with cyrosurgery, which freezes the cancer cells. Cancer in the bone may be treated with bisophosphates, which help prevent bone decay. Pain killers, either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain killers or pain killers derived from opiates, may also be prescribed to manage pain and increase quality of life.