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Lung Cancer Treatment: A Complete Guide

Lung Cancer Treatment: A Complete Guide
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Updated on September 24, 2026
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If you’ve been diagnosed with lung cancer, your doctor or oncologist will discuss suitable treatments with you. The two main types of lung cancer — small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) — may be treated differently. For SCLC, surgery is rarely performed. For NSCLC, treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, depending on the subtype and stage of cancer.

Lung cancer survival rates have improved in recent years, thanks to more lung cancer screening and better treatments. The five-year survival rate for lung cancer has increased by 26 percent in the past five years.

“We have so many more tools to offer our patients,” says Kristin Higgins, MD, the chief clinical officer for City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta and a professor of radiation oncology at City of Hope National Medical Center. That’s why it’s so important for those diagnosed with lung cancer to get biomarker testing before beginning treatment, Dr. Higgins adds. This will help your doctors decide what course of treatment to pursue.

Before starting a new treatment or combining treatments, it’s important to talk to your healthcare professional to discuss what’s best for you.

Surgery and Other Procedures

Surgery to remove a lung tumor may be an option if the cancer is found in stages 1 to 3, Higgins says. There are several options for surgery:

  • Pneumonectomy Your surgeon removes your entire lung with this procedure. You might need a pneumonectomy if the tumor is close to the center of your chest.
  • Lobectomy The lobe that contains the tumor is removed if you have a lobectomy. Your right lung is made up of three lobes, and your left lung is made up of two lobes.
  • Segmental Resection With this surgery, a large portion of your lung is removed — but not the entire lobe.
  • Wedge Resection This procedure involves removing only a small part of the lobe that contains the tumor.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as video-assisted thoracic surgery or robotic-assisted thoracic surgery, may also be available. These procedures require a smaller incision, and the recovery is usually easier.

Your doctor will choose the type of procedure according to the size and location of the tumor, as well as your lung function.

Risks of surgery may include bleeding, infection, blood clots, and, rarely, death. You may have certain side effects such as shortness of breath after surgery.

Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses high-energy radio waves to heat up the tumor and destroy cancer cells. Most of the time, RFA is performed as an outpatient procedure using local anesthesia. It may be a good option for someone with non-small cell lung cancer who can’t tolerate surgery or whose tumor is small in size and near the outer part of the lung.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a lung cancer treatment that involves delivering anticancer medicines in the form of pills or injections.

 Chemotherapy can sometimes be used along with radiation, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy — before or after surgery — to increase the odds of successful treatment. It is also used in advanced-stage lung cancer to control the cancer.
The following chemo drugs are commonly given to people with either SCLC or NSCLC. These medicines are usually combined, but depending on the situation, you may take just one at a time.

  • carboplatin
  • cisplatin
  • docetaxel (Taxotere)
  • etoposide (VP-16)
  • gemcitabine (Gemzar)
  • irinotecan (Camptosar)
  • lurbinectedin (Zepzelca)
  • paclitaxel (Taxol)
  • pemetrexed (Alimta, Pemfexy)
  • albumin-bound paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane)
  • topotecan (Hycamtin)
  • vinorelbine (Navelbine)
Side effects of chemo include hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, bruising, loss of appetite, mouth sores, diarrhea, constipation, and an increased risk of infection. There are many medications that can help minimize these side effects.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation can be used by itself or in combination with chemotherapy to cure earlier-stage lung cancers. Radiation uses high-energy beams, such as X-rays and protons, to kill cancer cells, either at the primary site or at potential metastatic sites. Your doctor may recommend radiation instead of surgery if the tumor can’t be removed because of its size or location in the lung, or if there are health reasons you can’t undergo surgery, says Jinesh Gheeya, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. Some people with advanced lung cancer receive radiation to relieve pain and improve their symptoms.

During radiation, the beams will come from a machine that targets the tumor. This is called external beam radiation and includes three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and proton therapy.

Side effects of radiation may include:

  • Fatigue
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Hair loss
  • Skin changes
Radiation can also damage or scar the lungs, which might cause a cough and shortness of breath. Sometimes those symptoms don’t go away completely after treatment.

Targeted Therapy

Lung cancer treatments that exploit specific abnormalities in cancer cells are known as targeted therapies. These drugs are different from chemotherapy in the way they work. Unlike chemo, targeted therapy recognizes cancer cells based on mutations, or changes, in their DNA or proteins that are not seen elsewhere in the body. It specifically attacks the cancer cells, not healthy cells.

Typically, targeted medicines don’t cause as many side effects as chemo, but you could experience a rash, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, high blood pressure, liver function issues, and heart, vision, or lung problems.

Most targeted drugs work only if you have certain gene mutations, which your doctor can test you for, says Dr. Gheeya. If there are no mutations present, that’s when a person would receive chemo or immunotherapy, he adds. Here are the common mutations that may be treated with targeted therapies for lung cancer.

EGFR Mutations

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a protein found on the surface of cells, and a mutation in the cancer gene can lead to an abnormal protein, causing lung cancer. Some mutations in the EGFR gene can be treated with drugs, such as:

  • afatinib (Gilotrif)
  • amivantamab (Rybrevant), amivantamab and hyaluronidase-lpuj (Rybrevant-faspro)

  • dacomitinib (Vizimpro)
  • erlotinib (Tarceva)
  • gefitinib (Iressa)
  • osimertinib (Tagrisso)
  • lazertinib (Lazcluze)

HER2 Mutations

HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), also known as ERBB2, is another protein found on the surface of cells. A mutation in this gene or an overly gene causes abnormal cell growth, leading to cancer. If testing shows that your lung cancer is HER2-positive, it means your cancer cells display a greater amount of HER2 on their surface. Certain medications can use these proteins as targets to find and destroy those cancer cells.

 About 1 to 4 percent of NSCLCs are HER2-mutated, and many more are HER2-positive.

There are three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved medications for locally advanced or metastatic HER2-mutated or HER2-positive lung cancer:

  • trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for HER2-positive lung cancer, which is also a type of drug called an antibody-drug conjugate, discussed below
  • sevabertinib (Hyrnuo) for HER2-mutated
  • zongertinib (Hernexeos) for HER2-mutated

ALK Fusion

About 5 percent of NSCLCs have an alteration in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. When mutated, it can cause abnormal cell growth and spread. Drugs that target ALK changes include:

  • alectinib (Alecensa)
  • brigatinib (Alunbrig)
  • ceritinib (Zykadia)
  • crizotinib (Xalkori)
  • lorlatinib (Lorbrena)

ROS1 Fusions

The ROS1 gene arrangement is related to the ALK gene, and some drugs that work for one also work for the other.

 In July 2026, the FDA approved a new second-line ROS1 treatment, zidesamtinib, for those with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1 NSCLC who have received a prior ROS1 treatment.

  • ceritinib (Zykadia)
  • crizotinib (Xalkori)
  • entrectinib (Rozlytrek)
  • lorlatinib (Lorbrena)
  • repotrectinib (Augtyro)
  • taletrectinib (Ibtrozi)
  • zidesamtinib (Jideytro)

BRAF Mutations

The BRAF gene helps manage important cell functions related to growth. When mutated, it signals cells to divide uncontrollably.

 Two drug combinations are approved by the FDA to target changes in the BRAF V600E gene:

  • dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist)
  • encorafenib (Braftovi) and binimetinib (Mektovi)

KRAS Mutations

The KRAS gene helps regulate cell growth, serving as an on-off switch. Similar to the BRAF mutations, when mutated, KRAS allows cells to grow uncontrollably. KRAS mutations are one of the most common mutations linked to cancer, driving 32 percent of lung cancers. There are several types of KRAS mutations. KRAS G12C can be targeted by FDA-approved agents.

 Examples include:
  • adagrasib (Krazati)
  • sotorasib (Lumakras)

MET Alterations

Only around 5 percent of patients who have lung cancer have this gene mutation. For those who do, targeted therapy MET inhibitor drugs, such as capmatinib (Tabrecta) or tepotinib (Tepmetko) may be recommended treatments.

Sometimes even if there is no MET mutation, an overly active MET gene can cause excessive protein production, causing cancer. If your cancer is tested MET-positive, it can be treated with a type of therapy called an antibody-drug conjugate, discussed below.

RET Mutations

An error in the RET gene, sometimes called a rearrangement, can cause lung cancer, although it appears in only 1 to 2 percent of patients. Patients who have this mutation are often younger and have never smoked. The two FDA-approved RET inhibitors are selpercatinib (Retevmo) and pralsetinib (Gavreto).

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses medicines to stimulate the body’s immune system to target and kill cancer cells more effectively. These treatments work by reinvigorating your own immune system to fight cancer, Gheeya says. Immunotherapy can be used on its own or in combination with other therapies. Biomarker testing can help indicate who will respond well to these treatments, Gheeya says.

These drugs are given as an intravenous infusion or injection under the skin.

PD-1 Inhibitors

These drugs block the PD-1 protein to help boost the body’s immune system response to fighting cancer cells. Examples are:

  • cemiplimab (Libtayo)
  • nivolumab (Opdivo), nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy (Opdivo Qvantig)
  • pembrolizumab (Keytruda)

For those with metastatic lung cancer, these may be used in conjunction with the medication ipilimumab (Yervoy) or tremelimumab (Imjudo), a CTLA-4 inhibitor, which is another type of immunotherapy drug.

PD-L1 Inhibitors

Meds that block the PD-L1 protein can help the immune system attack cancer cells. Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and durvalumab (Imfinzi) are PD-L1 inhibitors.

Immunotherapies, including PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors, can be used alone or with other treatments. Side effects of immunotherapy medicines may include autoimmune issues, such as underactive thyroid hormone, cough, itching, fatigue, rash, diarrhea, and joint pain.

Bispecific T Cell Engager Therapy

This type of immunotherapy uses lab-made antibodies to attract T cells, a type of immune cell, directly to cancer cells. This helps the T cells recognize cancer cells and kill them. Bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) therapy may be used for small-cell lung cancer when other treatments have not slowed down its progress.

 Side effects of BiTE therapy may include fever, low blood pressure, high heart rate, disorientation, and difficulty breathing.

 An example for lung cancer is:
  • tarlatamab (Imdelltra)

Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a lab, designed to attach to cancer cells and cause them to die. It is often used in conjunction with chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Examples:

  • bevacizumab (Avastin)
  • ramucirumab (Cyramza)

Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) Therapy

This novel type of therapy is a hybrid between chemotherapy and antibody therapy, and it is typically used when cancers recur or the cancer spreads. Antibody-drug conjugates have the ability to accurately destroy cancer cells without harming healthy cells. This treatment doesn’t cure cancer, but it can help people live longer.

 Examples for lung cancer include:
  • telisotuzumab vedotin (Emrelis)
  • trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu)
  • datopotamab deruxtecan (Datroway)
Because ADC contains chemotherapy, its side effects may be similar to chemotherapy, though they are usually milder. These include hair loss, fatigue, sore mouth, low blood counts, cough, and increased risk of infection.

Pain Management

Depending on the location and the size of the tumor, lung cancer can be painful, particularly if it presses against other organs.

 Cancer pain presents differently among people who have it. It can be dull, sharp, achy, or have a burning sensation. It can also range from mild to severe. Depending on your treatment facility, pain relief may be provided by your oncologist, a pain specialist, a palliative care physician, or a supportive care service. Options to treat it include:

  • Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen
  • Opioids, including morphine, fentanyl, hydrocodone and oxycodone
  • Non-opioids, including tramadol and suzetrigine (Journavx)
  • Topical numbing medication, such as lidocaine patch
  • Other prescription medications, like antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs, and steroids to help relieve pain
  • A nerve block procedure, which is a numbing medicine that’s injected into a nerve that can help prevent pain signals from being sent to the brain
  • Integrative therapies, such as massage, acupuncture, physical therapy, and meditation

Mental Health

The stress of living with cancer — or any serious illness — can take a toll on your peace of mind. And addressing those issues can help you live longer. Research suggests that mental health treatment improves lung cancer survival rates.

A therapist may help you process your illness, the prognosis, and the treatment. Research on antidepressants and lung cancer are mixed. Some studies suggest that antidepressants can improve survival rates, and others say they increase the risk of lung cancer.

 Talk to your healthcare team to discuss if this option is right for you.
Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mind-body interventions like yoga and tai chi, and regular exercise can also improve well-being in patients who have advanced lung cancer.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
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