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Chemotherapy Treatments for Lung Cancer

The two most-common treatments for lung cancer--chemotherapy and radiation therapy--are dangerous in their own right. In the case of chemotherapy, doctors use drugs with the ability to kill cells to kill the cancer cells. Chemotherapy can help contain a spreading tumor and make it smaller in preparation for surgery. It can also be used to minimize some of the symptoms from advanced cancer.

  1. How Chemotherapy Works

    • The medications used in chemotherapy target and kill rapidly dividing cells. Different medications are used at the same time because each drug will attack a cell at a different stage of the cell division. Because cancer cells divide more often than most other cells, this makes the cancer cells the target of the medications. However, some healthy cells divide rapidly as well. These cells like hair follicles, bone marrow and stomach-lining cells can also be killed by the chemotherapy.

    How Chemotherapy is Used

    • Chemotherapy is used in three main ways to treat cancer. Neoadjuvant, or primary systemic chemotherapy is the use of chemotherapy before surgery to kill cancer cells. Adjuvant chemotherapy is use of chemotherapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells missed in the surgery and to prevent the cancer from spreading. Systemic chemotherapy is used to treat an advancing cancer that may be beginning to spread from a localized spot.

    Chemotherapy Cycles

    • A cycle of chemotherapy may involve four to six treatments that can take up to four months. The doctor will monitor a patient's symptoms and the size of the cancer. If the treatment isn't working, the number of treatments may be cut short or the medications may be changed. The length of time between treatments may also be extended if it proves effective, though it causes harsh symptoms. The extra time will give your body more time to recover from earlier sessions.

    Chemotherapy Medications

    • Though sometimes chemotherapy can be taken as a pill, it is usually given intravenously. There are more than 200 chemotherapy drugs that are used in at least 50 combinations. Some of the most common chemotherapy medications are: Paraplatin (carboplatin), Platinol (cisplatin), Taxotere (docetaxel), Adriamycin (doxorubicin), VePesid (etoposide), Gemzar (gemcitabine), Ifex (ifosfamide), Camptosar (irinotecan), Taxol (paclitaxel), Altima (pemetrexed), Hycamtin (topotecan), Oncovir (vinblastine), Oncovin (vincristine) and Navelbine (vinorelbine). Cisplatin or carboplatin combined with another medication are usually the beginning medications.

    Chemotherapy Side Effects

    • As stated earlier, because chemotherapy attacks rapidly dividing cells, it can also attack rapidly dividing healthy cells like hair follicles, bone marrow and stomach-lining cells. This leads to side effects such as hair loss, digestive problems, nausea, mouth sores and lowered blood-cell counts. Side effects to chemotherapy vary depending on the individual. Sometimes the side effects may grow less noticeable over time and sometimes, they may become worse. While the cancer cells can't survive chemotherapy, healthy cells usually can.

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