Doctors once thought non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was one disease. Most people got the same treatment — chemotherapy (chemo) — especially if their cancer had spread to other parts of the body.
Now, doctors know there are many different types of NSCLC, with “more coming down the pike,” says Nathan Pennell, MD, a medical oncologist specializing in thoracic cancer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute.
That means treatment plans are no longer once-size-fits-all. Instead, treatments like targeted therapies and immunotherapy are tailored to each person’s tumor.
Targeted Therapies
Some cancer cells have gene changes (also called mutations) that help them grow and spread….
