Lung cancer chemotherapy depends on the type and stage of cancer, as well as other treatments being used.

Potential goals include:

• destroying cancer cells completely to prevent recurrence after surgery or other treatments
• reducing tumor size to facilitate safer surgical removal
• stopping lung cancer from growing and spreading
• enhancing the efficacy of other cancer-killing treatments including radiation therapy
• alleviating symptoms and slowing cancer growth in advanced stages. This is known as palliative treatment.