Chemotherapy is one of the most commonly used treatments for cancer, but it can cause side effects. Alternatives include surgery, targeted therapy, and laser therapy.

More than 100 types of cancer have been reported in people. Many of these cancers can be further divided into subcategories, each of which may need different treatment.

Chemotherapy is one of the primary treatments for many types of cancer. Although it can be effective, it can cause damage to healthy cells, especially those that replicate quickly.

Damage to these cells is responsible for many of chemotherapy’s side effects, such as a weakened immune system, fatigue, and hair loss.

Depending on which type of cancer you have, your cancer team may recommend alternatives such as surgery, radiation therapy, or laser treatment. They may also recommend newer treatments such as immunotherapy or targeted therapy.

The options available to you depend on such factors as:

  • the type and subtype of your cancer
  • whether you’ve previously been treated with chemotherapy
  • your overall health
  • the stage and spread of your cancer

This article takes a closer look at the potential alternatives to chemotherapy, what they entail, and how effective they tend to be.

Surgery is one of the most common alternatives to chemotherapy treatment. Surgery might involve removing:

  • a tumor and the surrounding tissue
  • lymph nodes
  • an entire limb if the cancer is expected to spread

Surgery tends to work best for treating solid tumors located in one location. It tends to be less effective for cancer spread over a large area.

It’s not a treatment option for diffuse cancers such as leukemia, but it may play a limited role, such as lymph node removal or the placing of catheters into your body.

Surgery is often combined with other treatment options, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These treatments may be administered before or after surgery.

Surgery may sometimes be curative on its own for types of cancer such as skin cancer.

Hormone therapy involves manipulating the hormone levels in your body to:

  • slow cancer growth
  • treat cancer
  • help reduce your symptoms

Hormone therapies can broadly be divided into:

  • hormone therapy to block hormones your body produces
  • hormone therapy to interfere with how these hormones act in your body

Breast cancer and prostate cancer are two types of cancer commonly treated with hormone therapy.

Hormone therapy isn’t typically curative on its own, but it can potentially help improve your survival when combined with other treatments. For example, it may help shrink your tumor before you receive another treatment, such as surgery.

Hormone therapy may also be combined with chemotherapy to treat some prostate cancers, especially those that tend to be aggressive and have spread beyond the prostate.

Targeted therapy is a drug therapy similar to chemotherapy, but it mostly tends to destroy cancer cells while leaving your healthy cells intact. Targeted therapy medications are classified as:

  • Monoclonal antibodies: Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a lab that attach to specific areas of cancer cells. This may stop the cancer from growing or tell your immune system to destroy the cancer cells.
  • Small-molecule inhibitors: These drugs enter cancer cells and mark them as targets or cause the cancer cells to die.

Some targeted therapy drugs are available orally. Others are infused through an IV.

Targeted therapy is a common treatment for many types of cancer, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, and can be highly effective for some cancers.

Many clinical trials are currently investigating targeted therapy drugs to determine whether they’re more effective or cause fewer side effects than current treatments.

Immunotherapy involves taking drugs that help your immune system find and destroy cancer cells. It’s often a treatment option for advanced cancers or cancers that don’t respond to other treatments.

Immunotherapy has been approved to treat many types of cancer and can be effective at improving survival. Since it’s a newer treatment, it’s not yet as widely performed as other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Immunotherapy is administered in various ways, including:

  • orally
  • through an IV
  • topically
  • intravesically, directly into your bladder

Laser therapy uses a focused beam of light to heat and destroy cancer cells. It can only be used to treat areas a laser can reach, so has limited application in treating most types of cancer.

The goal of laser therapy is typically to:

  • shrink or destroy a tumor
  • activate a chemical called a photosensitizing agent (photodynamic therapy)
  • remove a blockage, such as in your lungs, to reduce symptoms

Laser therapy may be used to treat many types of cancer, including:

Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatment options for cancer. Despite often being effective, it can also cause many side effects.

Some people might not make a good candidate for chemotherapy and may benefit from other treatments instead.

Your cancer team can explain to you what your other treatment options may be. They can also tell you about the pros and cons of each treatment option as well as the chances of surviving your cancer.