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At a lung cancer treatment center such as Fox Chase, primary treatment for non-small cell lung cancer may involve surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy for lung cancer — or the use of combination radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy. Our surgeons work closely with your referring physician so that you can stay close to home for the majority of treatment and follow-up.

As a top lung cancer treatment center, Fox Chase is also conducting cutting-edge research with new lung cancer targeted therapies. Targeted therapies use drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells.

Surgery for Lung Cancer

Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic (VATS) Lobectomy and Pneumonectomy

Surgeons at Fox Chase use VATS for lobectomy and pneumonectomy because its benefits to patients include reduced post-operative pain, faster recovery and a shortened hospital stay.

VATS is a minimally invasive surgical technique in which doctors use state-of-the-art telescopes, video cameras and other instruments to view and operate inside the chest through several small incisions (about 3 inches), rather than cutting through muscle and the chest wall. Surgeons at Fox Chase now use VATS to perform lung biopsies, pleural biopsies, wedge resections, lobectomies and pneumonectomies.

Not all patients with lung cancer are candidates for surgery. However, for those who are appropriate, there are 3 types of lung cancer surgery:

1. Wedge resection - this procedure can be used to diagnose lung cancer or to treat it. It is performed through a thoracotomy (surgery to open the chest) or a Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS). The tumor is removed along with a margin of healthy lung tissue in order to collect any microscopic cells that remain. Most patients, even those with limited pulmonary function, can undergo this procedure successfully.
2. Lobectomy - in this procedure, an entire lobe is removed surgically. The lungs are divided into sections called lobes. There are 3 lobes on the right and 2 on the left. Patients with good pulmonary function can survive without one lobe. In this procedure, the surgeon removes more of the healthy surrounding lung tissue to take the microscopic cancer cells that may be left behind. Lobectomies can be done using thoracotomy or Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS).
3. Pneumonectomy - in this procedure, which is the most invasive surgery for lung cancer, an entire lung is removed. In some cases, when the tumor involves more than one lobe or is located centrally, a pneumonectomy may be the only treatment option that can remove all of the lung cancer. It can only be performed on patients with a high level of lung function. At Fox Chase, pneumonectomies can be done using thoracotomy or Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS).

RadioFrequency Ablation

RadioFrequency Ablation is used for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. It works by using high-energy radio waves to treat the tumor. A thin, needle-like probe is temporarily placed into the tumor to release the radio waves. It is guided accurately using ultrasound or CT scans. The probe releases high frequency alternating current that creates frictional heating and destroys the cancer cells. This has become a major treatment method for patients with tumors that are small in size.

Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer

Fox Chase's team of thoracic and head & neck medical oncologists treat patients using multispecialty therapy and unique ways of combining systemic therapy (chemotherapy or targeted) with local therapy (radiation or surgery). Innovative strategies are used in the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma. Our oncologists participate in many national lung cancer research studies.

Hossein Borghaei, DO, Roger Cohen, MD, Scott Ebbinghaus, MD, Ranee Mehra, MD, Michael Millenson, MD, and Joseph Treat, MD, all have broad expertise in the prescription of chemotherapy and biological therapies for patients with various stages and types of lung cancer. Each of these doctors is also a participant in ongoing local and national clinical trials of new therapies in lung cancer. In several instances, our doctors are studying unique treatments in clinical trials for patients who have not responded to standard therapy. Each of our lung cancer doctors also participate in national committees that are defining the practice of lung cancer, including the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Radiation Treatment - Brachytherapy

Stereotactic radiotherapy is a very precise method of delivering high doses of radiation in only a few treatment in comparison to a more prolonged radiation course( 6 or 7 weeks) for select patients with early stage lung cancers. Results to date have been excellent with minimal side effects and is currently being offered on a clinical study.

Innovative treatments for including PET/CT combined treatment planning (used to more precisely target the tumor), respiratory gating using 4 dimension CT simulation (used to minimize treatment of surrounding normal tissues) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are offered to select patients. These newer technologies allow for more precise delivery of radiation to the cancer, while minimizing the dose to the surrounding normal structures such as the lung, heart and esophagus.

Brachytherapy is currently being offered following wedge resections on protocol for candidates not thought to be candidates for lobectomies. Endobronchial brachytherapy is also being offered in the palliative setting in conjunction with interventional bronchoscopy.

Innovative lung cancer treatments are provided by expert radiation oncologists Mark Buyyounouski, MD, MS, Steven Feigenberg, MD, Andre Konski, MD, MBA, MA, and Nicos Nicolaou, MD.

For more information about lung cancer treatment and prevention at Fox Chase Cancer Center or to make an appointment, call 1-888-FOX CHASE (1-888-369-2427).

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