Occasionally, surgery may be used to help determine exactly which type of lung cancer you have.

Surgery to remove the cancer may be an option when your cancer is in only one lung or present in one lung and in nearby lymph nodes. Surgery usually is done only if your doctor thinks all the cancer can be removed and your general health is good enough for you to handle the surgery.²¹ Surgery is the most effective treatment for the early-stage non–small cell lung cancers (stage I through stage IIIA). Often in stages IB through IIIA, surgery will be combined with radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Surgery Choices

The type of surgery performed depends on the location and size of your lung cancer. Lung function studies and a lung scan are often done before surgery to predict whether you will have enough remaining lung function after surgery to live a fairly normal life.

Lung surgery

Lung surgery (thoracotomy)

Surgery to remove lymph nodes in the center of the chest is usually recommended at the time of lung surgery to determine whether the cancer has spread.

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation uses a small needle inserted through the skin and into the tumor. Energy passes through the needle into the tumor. This heats and kills cancer cells. It also closes up the little blood vessels in the area so there is less bleeding.

Cryosurgery

Cryosurgery (also called cryoablation) freezes the tumor and kills it. Cryosurgery for lung cancer is experimental and is being used only in certain clinical trials.

Laser therapy

Laser therapy uses a narrow beam of very intense light to destroy cancer cells. Laser therapy usually is used as a palliative care to remove tumors that block the airway; it does not cure lung cancer.

Photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses laser light and a special light-activated substance (Photofrin) to kill cancer cells. It is approved for palliative treatment to destroy tumors that block the airway but it does not cure the lung cancer. Few lung cancers are treated with this therapy. Surgery is still the standard treatment for early-stage lung cancer.

In clinical trials, PDT appears to help relieve coughing, shortness of breath, and coughing up bloody mucus. Additional research is being done.

Cautery

Cautery is used to burn (cauterize) and remove tumors that block the airway.

What To Think About

You may have side effects from your surgery.

Chemotherapy may be given before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery to destroy any cancer cells.

Adjuvant chemotherapy for non–small cell lung cancer has been shown to improve long-term survival for stages I, II, and III that have been completely removed with surgery.¹⁵

Adjuvant radiation therapy does not seem to improve long-term survival but may reduce tumor recurrence in the lungs.³