Chemotherapy for lung cancer is used at different points in treatment to achieve different goals such as shrinking or stabilizing the tumor, killing leftover cancer cells after surgery or relieving lung cancer symptoms.
What to Expect
Key Points
- Chemotherapy can be used to achieve different goals during lung cancer treatment.
- Chemotherapy can affect normal, healthy cells too, which can cause side effects.
- Help prepare for chemotherapy by watching the What to Expect video above and using this worksheet to stay organized.
Lung cancer chemotherapy can be the main type of treatment, or it can be used along with surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and/or anti-angiogenesis drugs (which cut off blood flow to the cancer cells to keep them from growing).
Sometimes lung cancer chemotherapy is used to shrink the tumor before surgery. This is called preoperative or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Sometimes it is used to kill any cancers cells that remain after surgery. In some patients who are not eligible for surgery, but whose cancer has not spread outside the chest, chemotherapy might be used in combination with radiation. It may also be used in more advanced stages of the disease when surgery is not an option. In this setting, chemotherapy is given to stabilize the cancer and to relieve cancer-related symptoms.
Chemotherapy is usually given through the veins (intravenously or IV). Lung cancer chemotherapy is given in a clinical setting over several hours and does not require staying overnight in the hospital. Chemotherapy for lung cancer is given in cycles which typically last three to four weeks. Depending on the chemotherapy regimen that your doctor selects based on your specific type of lung cancer, chemotherapy may be given just once during the three-week cycle or in some cases, it may be given weekly.
Since chemotherapy can affect healthy cells as well as cancer cells, it is common for patients to experience a decrease in blood cell counts. This is often referred to as the nadir period, or just nadir. Many blood cells help fight infection, so it is especially important for patients to protect themselves by wearing a mask, avoiding crowds and washing their hands while their blood counts are low.
Chemotherapy can also affect normal cells including blood, skin and nerve cells. When normal cells are injured, it can cause side effects. It is important to work closely with your care team to manage your side effects. Ask about consulting with a palliative or supportive care doctor whose specialty is side-effect management.
Chemotherapy can also affect normal cells including blood, skin and nerve cells. When normal cells are injured, it can cause side effects. It is important to work closely with your care team to manage your side effects. Ask about consulting with a palliative or supportive care doctor whose specialty is side effect management.
What is “nadir”?
The term “nadir” means “the lowest point” and is used to describe low amounts of blood cell counts, medication levels, and tumor DNA throughout lung cancer treatment. While it is often used when discussing blood cell counts after chemotherapy, it can also mean the lowest amount of drug in the body or the lowest amount of tumor DNA in the body. Researchers are studying the connection between the tumor growth rate after tumor DNA nadir and lung cancer prognosis, particularly in patients with EGFR or ALK alterations.
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Chemotherapy Before, During, and After: A patient planning worksheet
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Page last updated: October 9, 2024
