Lung cancer starts when cells in your lungs grow out of control because of specific gene changes. It's one of the most common cancers in both men and women.

Your lungs are sponge-like organs that take up most of the upper half of your body.

When you breathe in, your lungs absorb oxygen into your blood. When you breathe out, your lungs remove carbon dioxide from your blood and expel it into the air.

Because your lungs help filter the air you breathe, they can get damaged by many things in the environment.

Smoking tobacco, including exposure to secondhand smoke, is the leading cause of lung cancer. Quitting smoking helps reduce your risk of lung cancer. Screening can also help catch lung cancer early. Finding cancer early gives you more options and a better chance of survival.

There have been major changes in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. We now know way more about the genetic changes that cause it. These gene changes have helped us understand the different types of lung cancer. It also helps us find better treatments for it.

• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): By far the most common type, it accounts for up to 85% of all lung cancers. Twenty-five years of research have identified dozens of types. This allows for more tailored care.
• Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC): This type of cancer makes up about 15% of all lung cancers. These cells originate from tiny glands inside the lungs. SCLC often grows and spreads faster than NSCLC. Its genetic makeup is less critical to treatment.
• Lung carcinoid tumors: These are rare and account for less than 5% of all lung cancers. They got their name by looking “cancer-like” or carcinoid under the microscope. They start in tiny glands of the lungs and may secrete hormones. We classify them by how fast or slow they may grow and treat them accordingly.
• Cancers that spread to the lungs: When you have cancer in other organs in your body, it can spread to your lungs. Cancers most likely to spread to your lungs include breast, colorectal, kidney, testicular, and gynecologic cancers. Almost any circulating cancer cell may stop and grow in the lung tissue.

Our lung cancer team members are diagnostic experts. We identify the genetic changes unique to your cancer. We use that information to devise a care plan to target your lung cancer.

Cancer medicines

Your lung cancer team may include a medical oncologist. They'll help tailor a cancer medicine treatment plan to you. 

We treat some lung cancers with non-targeted medicines like chemotherapy. These kill rapidly growing cells, including cancer. Not everyone with lung cancer needs chemotherapy. Your cancer may respond well to other drugs.

In recent years, new cancer medicines have given people with lung cancer more treatment options that work better. Thanks to immunotherapy and targeted therapy, many people are now living longer.

Targeted therapy uses cancer’s genetic makeup to target drugs directly at the cancer cells. By targeting this “Achilles’ heel” we can kill the cancer cells and leave healthy cells relatively untouched.

When targeted therapy isn’t an option for your lung cancer, we use drugs to boost your immune system to fight it. They work by removing the “brakes” on the immune system called checkpoints. 

Some cancers make these checkpoint proteins to hide from the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors stop this signal and stimulate the body to attack cancer cells.

Cancer surgery

Surgery is one of the main treatments when we catch NSCLC early, for example, during lung cancer screening. The earlier we find cancer, the more likely we can try to remove it. In some of these cases, surgery can cure the cancer. 

However, in SCLC surgery is only an option in the earliest stages. We often use it along with radiation and chemotherapy. 

Lung cancer surgery can have serious side effects. Our cardiothoracic surgeons have the skill and experience to perform these complex surgeries. We use a team approach to diagnosing and treating lung cancer. Carilion has equipped our experts with the latest tools to get to the tumor and remove it using smaller and smaller incisions. That makes for faster recovery and return to your life’s goals.

Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive techniques to reach and remove your cancer. These include robotic assistance, either for surgery like the da Vinci system, or procedures like the Ion system. 

The Ion system is a type of robot-assisted navigational bronchoscopy. It helps doctors reach and biopsy tiny lung nodules deep in the airways using a very thin, flexible tube. It makes it easier to find cancer early and avoid more invasive procedures.

Radiation therapy

Radiation uses high-energy rays to target and kill cancer cells. We aim the radiation at the cancer cells to stop their growth and potentially destroy the tumor.

External beam radiation uses a machine outside your body to deliver a beam focused on your tumor and nearby lymph nodes. This machine delivers radiation into the heart of the cancer cell, damaging its genes. CT scanners help radiation-oncologists aim the beam, reducing damage to healthy tissue.

For more than 20 years, Carilion has also used the fully robotic CyberKnife radiation system to kill smaller tumors. This tool delivers precise doses of radiation with extreme accuracy. It can sometimes fully eliminate the tumor without cutting it out.

Clinical trials

Clinical trials can help patients access new therapies to fight lung cancer. We usually compare a new medicine or protocol to the current best therapy in a trial. Your care team may ask you to consider a trial when studying a new and exciting way to treat cancer.

These studies are voluntary; you'll talk to your care team before enrolling. A trial can be a first treatment option or an option if your treatment stops working.