What are the main types of cancer treatment?

NCI lists surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy, stem cell transplant, photodynamic therapy and hyperthermia. Many people have more than one.

What is the difference between chemotherapy and immunotherapy?

According to NCI, chemotherapy uses drugs that kill or stop the growth of fast-growing cells, including cancer cells. Immunotherapy helps the person's own immune system act against cancer.

What is targeted therapy?

NCI describes targeted therapy as treatment that acts on specific proteins that help cancer cells grow, divide and spread. The tumour usually needs biomarker testing first to see whether it has a suitable target.

Types of Cancer Treatment: How the Main Options Work

Q: Are alternative treatments safe to use instead of standard treatment?

NCI notes that less research has been done for most alternative approaches and advises discussing any of them with your health care provider. Do not stop recommended treatment without talking to your doctor.

Cancer treatment has many names, and it can be hard to follow what each one does. This guide explains in plain language how the main types work, why they are often combined, and what to ask your care team. It does not recommend any treatment.

For information only - this is not medical advice. The right treatment depends on the type and stage of cancer and on the person. Only your own care team can advise you. Please talk to your doctor before making any decision about treatment.

How treatment is chosen

The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains that the treatments a person needs depend on the type of cancer, whether it has spread and where, and whether they have other health problems. Some people have only one treatment, but most often treatments are combined (NCI: Types of Cancer Treatment). The World Health Organization (WHO) also stresses that a correct diagnosis comes first, because every cancer type needs its own specific treatment approach (WHO cancer fact sheet).

Some treatments are local - they treat one part of the body, as surgery and most radiation therapy do. Others are systemic - they travel through the bloodstream to reach cells throughout the body, as many drug treatments do.

Surgery

When used for cancer, surgery is a procedure in which a surgeon removes cancer from the body. NCI says it works best for solid tumours that are contained in one area. It is a local treatment and is not used for leukaemia or for cancers that have spread. Surgery may be open (one larger cut) or minimally invasive (several small cuts and a camera), and NCI notes that minimally invasive surgery usually takes less time to recover from. Sometimes surgery is the only treatment needed, but often it is combined with others (NCI: Surgery to Treat Cancer).

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy (chemo) uses drugs to kill cancer cells. NCI explains that it works by killing or stopping the growth of cancer cells and other fast-growing cells. It may be used to treat the cancer itself - for example to lower the chance it comes back or to stop or slow its growth - or to shrink tumours that are causing pain and other problems. When combined with other treatments, chemotherapy may be given before surgery or radiation to make a tumour smaller (neoadjuvant) or afterwards to destroy cancer cells that may remain (adjuvant).

Because chemotherapy also affects healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those lining the mouth and gut and those that make hair grow, it can cause side effects like mouth sores, nausea and hair loss. NCI says the most common side effect is fatigue, and that side effects often get better or go away after chemotherapy ends (NCI: Chemotherapy to Treat Cancer).

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours by damaging their DNA. NCI explains that it does not kill cancer cells straight away: it takes days or weeks of treatment, and cells keep dying for weeks or months afterwards. There are two main types (NCI: Radiation Therapy to Treat Cancer):

External beam radiation comes from a machine aimed at the cancer. It treats only a specific part of the body.
Internal radiation places a radiation source inside the body. A solid source (brachytherapy) is put in or near the tumour; a liquid source is swallowed or given into a vein and travels through the body.

Radiation can also be used to ease symptoms, for example by shrinking a tumour that is causing pain or breathing problems.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy helps the immune system act against cancer. NCI explains that the immune system normally detects and destroys abnormal cells, but cancer cells have ways to avoid it - for example by having changes that make them less visible to the immune system. Types of immunotherapy include immune checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell transfer therapy, monoclonal antibodies, treatment vaccines and immune system modulators. NCI notes that immunotherapy drugs are approved for many types of cancer but are not yet as widely used as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, and that they can cause side effects when the immune system also acts against healthy tissues (NCI: Immunotherapy to Treat Cancer).

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy acts on specific proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide and spread. NCI describes it as the foundation of precision medicine. Most targeted therapies are either small-molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies. For most cancers, the tumour must be tested to see whether it has a target for which a drug exists - this is called biomarker testing and may need a biopsy. NCI notes drawbacks too: cancer cells can become resistant, and drugs for some targets are hard to develop (NCI: Targeted Therapy to Treat Cancer).

Hormone therapy

Some breast and prostate cancers use hormones to grow. NCI explains that hormone therapy slows or stops the growth of these cancers, either by blocking the body's ability to make certain hormones or by interfering with how hormones act. It is most often used with other treatments, and its side effects depend on the type of hormone therapy and differ between men and women (NCI: Hormone Therapy to Treat Cancer).

Other treatments you may hear about

Stem cell transplant - NCI describes this as a procedure to restore blood-forming stem cells in people whose own have been destroyed by high-dose chemotherapy or radiation.
Photodynamic therapy - uses a drug that is activated by light to kill cancer and other abnormal cells.
Hyperthermia - heats body tissue to help damage cancer cells; NCI notes it is not widely available and is being studied in clinical trials.

Palliative care and clinical trials

Palliative care focuses on quality of life: preventing and treating symptoms and side effects, and supporting emotional, practical and family needs. NCI says it can be given at any point from diagnosis, alongside other treatment (NCI: Palliative Care in Cancer).

Clinical trials are research studies that test new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer, and ways to manage side effects. Whether a trial is suitable is something to ask your doctor about (NCI: What Are Clinical Trials?).

A word on "alternative" treatments

NCI distinguishes complementary medicine, used alongside standard treatment (for example, acupuncture to help with some side effects), from alternative medicine, used instead of standard treatment. It notes that less research has been done for most of these approaches, and advises discussing any of them with your health care provider first, because things that seem safe could be harmful or interfere with cancer treatment (NCI: Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Be very cautious of anyone who promises a cure or asks you to stop treatment your doctor has recommended.

Questions to take to your care team

NCI suggests asking what the treatments are for your type and stage of cancer, the benefits and risks of each, which one your doctor recommends and why, how you will know whether it is working, and which side effects to report straight away. See our full list of questions to ask your doctor. For the background terms, read cancer stages explained, how cancer is diagnosed and what is metastatic cancer?

This page describes how treatments work in general. It cannot tell you which treatment is right for you or how well any treatment will work for you. Please discuss your options with your own medical team.

Sources

Published and last reviewed: 16 October 2026.

Types of cancer treatment: an overview of the main options