Lung Cancer Treatments

As a Penn Medicine satellite location, we are equipped with the most advanced technology including a state-of-the-art linear accelerator, a computer-controlled device that delivers radiation treatment. Our cancer specialists work closely with board-certified Penn radiation oncologists to plan, coordinate and administer the most advanced radiation therapies including:

• Conformal radiation therapy (CRT): Helps shape the radiation treatment beam to the shape of the tumor and gives doctors more control when treating tumors. In conformal radiation, a special computer uses CT imaging scans to create 3-D maps of the location of the cancer in the body and permits the delivery of radiation from several directions so that the beams conform to match the shape of the cancer. It limits radiation exposure to nearby healthy tissue and the tissue in the beam's path.
• Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT): Uses frequent imaging during a course of radiation therapy to improve the precision and accuracy of the delivery of the radiation treatment. A linear accelerator takes pictures of the tumor immediately before or during the time radiation is delivered. IGRT precisely targets the radiation at the cancer site to ideally avoid healthy surrounding tissue.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): An advanced form of radiotherapy that uses a linear accelerator to deliver precise doses of radiation to tumors or specific areas within the tumors. IMRT allows for the radiation dose to conform more precisely to the three-dimensional shape of the tumor by controlling or modulating the intensity of the radiation beam. The therapy allows higher radiation doses to be delivered to regions within the tumor while minimizing the dose to the surrounding area.
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT): Also known as phototherapy or photoradiation therapy, brings together light-sensitive medication with low-level beams of light to destroy cancer cells. The laser light used in PDT can be directed through a fiber-optic strand placed close to the cancer cells through a bronchoscope into the lungs for the treatment of lung cancer. This treatment is available to eligible patients at Penn Medicine's University City main campus.

For patients requiring highly specialized stereotactic radiosurgery treatment, our cancer specialists collaborate with our colleagues at Penn Medicine for direct referral to advanced therapies including:

• CyberKnife®: A radiosurgery system that is a noninvasive alternative to surgery for treating cancerous and noncancerous tumors. CyberKnife® does not require an incision and uses high-dose radiation to target tumors.
• Gamma Knife®: This is a powerful treatment approach for lung cancer that has spread to the brain. It involves a detailed mapping of the brain and works by directing beams precisely at the brain tumor, skull base tumors and other brain disorders. It does not damage healthy tissue and prevents cancer cells from multiplying. After treatment, the tumor stops growing and may disappear over time.
• Proton therapy: Doylestown Health's Cancer Institute's patients with lung cancer may be treated at Penn Medicine’s Roberts Proton Therapy Center in Philadelphia, the largest and most advanced facility in the world for this precise form of cancer radiation. Proton therapy is external beam radiotherapy in which protons are directed at a tumor. The radiation dose that is given through protons is extremely precise, and limits the exposure of normal tissues beyond conventional radiation. The result is a better chance for curing cancer with fewer harmful side effects.

We offer all major surgical treatments for lung cancer. Our board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons are fellowship-trained and nationally recognized in their field, and are named among the best in the region by Philadelphia Magazine's Top Docs. They specialize in complex lung cancer surgery procedures including:

• Lobectomy: Surgical removal of an entire section or lobe of a lung
• Mediastinal lymph node removal/sampling: Pre-therapeutic surgical procedure to determine the most accurate staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to assist in treatment decisions and prognosis. The results of this procedure depend on the number of lymph nodes removed or sampled and it has technical limitations, especially for left upper lobe tumors.
• Pneumonectomy: Surgical removal of an entire lung
• Sleeve resection: Treats some cancers in large airways of the lung to preserve lung function
• Thoracotomy: Surgical procedure that makes an incision into the chest wall to examine the lungs; remove a lung or part of a lung; remove a rib; examine, treat or remove organs in the chest cavity; remove tumors and metastatic growths; or biopsy or take a tissue sample to examine for evidence of abnormal cells.
• Video-assisted thorocoscopic surgery (VATS): Treats early stage lung cancers near the outside of the lung with smaller incisions than a thoracotomy. This procedure uses an endoscope or thin, rigid tube with a tiny video camera on the end that is inserted inside the chest to visually examine on a TV monitor the pleura, lung and mediastinum and to obtain tissue for testing purposes.
• Wedge resection or segmentectomy: Partial removal of a lobe of a lung

After surgery, patients receive advanced nursing care by our expert intensive care unit (ICU) team with a smooth transition to the hospital's telemetry unit for continuous monitoring. In addition, early after discharge, the surgical office physician assistant (PA) is available to make personal house calls to ensure continuity of care and the best outcomes possible.

Our hospital was the first health care facility in Bucks County to acquire the da Vinci® Surgical System, which uses surgical and robotic technology to make small incisions in the chest to remove a tumor and to spare surrounding healthy tissue from the affected lung. Our thoracic surgeons use robotic procedures to treat early stages of lung cancer or as secondary treatment after chemotherapy or radiation therapy or to perform robotic biopsies to assess suspicious lung nodules.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses an image-guided, minimally invasive technique that heats and destroys cancer cells. RFA uses ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide a needle electrode into a cancerous tumor. High-frequency electrical currents pass through the electrode, creating heat that destroys abnormal cells.