Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat Merkel-cell cancers. The radiotherapy fields used are usually very large so as to cover sufficient areas of skin. This is necessary because of MCC's aggressive local and regional metastatic behavior.

Adjuvant radiotherapy has been shown to be effective in reducing the rates of recurrence and in increasing the survival of patients with MCC. Patients who present with no distant metastases and a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy have a very good prognosis when treated with both surgery and radiotherapy (approximately 90% survival rate at five years).

Metastatic MCC may respond to treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation, but current multimodal therapies are usually not curative. Intensive treatment can be effective in shrinking the tumor and improving operability when tumors are too large to be removed or located in a place where removal would be difficult or dangerous, or in palliation of signs and symptoms caused by metastatic tumors.

There are several treatment options for penile cancer, depending on staging. They include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapy. The most common treatment is one of five types of surgery:

- Wide local excision—the tumor and some surrounding healthy tissue are removed

- Microsurgery—surgery performed with a microscope is used to remove the tumor and as little healthy tissue as possible

- Laser surgery—laser light is used to burn or cut away cancerous cells

- Circumcision—cancerous foreskin is removed

- Amputation (penectomy)—a partial or total removal of the penis, and possibly the associated lymph nodes.

Radiation therapy is usually used adjuvantly with surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence. With earlier stages of penile cancer, a combination of topical chemotherapy and less invasive surgery may be used. More advanced stages of penile cancer usually require a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

In addition to all the above, treatment of the underlying disease like brucellosis, is important to limit disease recurrence.

Immunotherapy research suggests that treatment using "Euphorbia peplus", a common garden weed, may be effective. Australian biopharmaceutical company Peplin is developing this as topical treatment for BCC. Imiquimod is an immunotherapy but is listed here under chemotherapy.

Surgery is usually the first treatment that a patient undergoes for Merkel-cell cancer. Lesions usually appear purple-red in color, and there is little else to distinguish this variant of skin cancer from other types. Its identity usually comes as a surprise after surgery and pathologic examination.

As with surgery for most other forms of cancer, it is normal for the surgeon to remove a border of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. While it has been thought that leaving this margin may not be as critical as it is in the surgical resection of melanoma, studies also reveal that local recurrences are fairly common in MCC near the site of the surgery.

Local or regional lymph nodes are usually removed if the lesion is more than 1 cm in diameter, due to a high risk that they will contain cancer cells (micrometastasis) that could develop into a new tumor or spread further. Sometimes, however, the doctor will first perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy. In this procedure, the doctor injects a dye or radioactive substance near the tumor. This material flows into adjacent lymph nodes, which are identified, removed, and checked for cancer cells, indicating the sites where cancer is most likely to spread (the "sentinel" nodes). This procedure has been demonstrated to be an important prognostic indicator. Results help dictate the use of appropriate adjuvant therapies. Usually, however, surgery alone is insufficient to control Merkel-cell carcinoma.

Radiation therapy can be delivered either as external beam radiotherapy or as brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy). Although radiotherapy is generally used in older patients who are not candidates for surgery, it is also used in cases where surgical excision will be disfiguring or difficult to reconstruct (especially on the tip of the nose, and the nostril rims). Radiation treatment often takes as few as 5 visits to as many as 25 visits. Usually, the more visits scheduled for therapy, the less complication or damage is done to the normal tissue supporting the tumor. Radiotherapy can also be useful if surgical excision has been done incompletely or if the pathology report following surgery suggests a high risk of recurrence, for example if nerve involvement has been demonstrated. Cure rate can be as high as 95% for small tumor, or as low as 80% for large tumors. Usually, recurrent tumors after radiation are treated with surgery, and not with radiation. Further radiation treatment will further damage normal tissue, and the tumor might be resistant to further radiation. Radiation therapy may be contraindicated for treatment of nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome. The 2008 study reported that radiation therapy is a good treatment for primary BCCs and recurrent BCCs, but not for BCCs that have recurred following previous radiation treatment.

Complete radical surgical resection is the treatment of choice for EMECL, and in most cases, results in long-term survival or cure.

a) Surgical resection is mainstay of treatment, whenever possible. If tumor is completely removed, post-operative radiation therapy is typically not needed since acinic cell is considered a low-grade histology. Post-operative radiation therapy for acinic cell carcinoma is used if: 1) margins are positive, 2) incomplete resection, 3) tumor invades beyond gland, 4) positive lymph nodes.

b) Neutron beam radiation

c) Conventional radiation

d) Chemotherapy

This cancer is typically aggressive, presents at an advanced stage when the cancer has already metastasized, and is resistant to chemotherapy. It therefore poses a significant management challenge. Current treatment options include surgical resection and chemotherapy with a variety of agents, including (but not limited to) ifosfamide, etoposide, carboplatin, and topotecan. A recent study looked at the use of methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin in 3 patients and saw a partial response and longer survival than historical reports. Carboplatin, gemcitibine, and paclitaxel provided a complete response in a patient with advanced disease. The role of radiation is unclear; some tumors have shown a response to radiation. Due to the apparent propensity for the tumor to spread to the central nervous system, it has been suggested that prophylactic craniospinal irradiation should be considered.

In ES-SCLC, combination chemotherapy is the standard of care, with radiotherapy added only to palliate symptoms such as dyspnea, pain from liver or bone metastases, or for treatment of brain metastases, which, in small-cell lung carcinoma, typically have a rapid, if temporary, response to whole brain radiotherapy.

Combination chemotherapy consists of a wide variety of agents, including cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and carboplatin. Response rates are high even in extensive disease, with between 15% and 30% of subjects having a complete response to combination chemotherapy, and the vast majority having at least some objective response. Responses in ES-SCLC are often of short duration, however.

If complete response to chemotherapy occurs in a subject with SCLC, then prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is often used in an attempt to prevent the emergence of brain metastases. Although this treatment is often effective, it can cause hair loss and fatigue. Prospective randomized trials with almost two years follow-up have not shown neurocognitive ill-effects. Meta-analyses of randomized trials confirm that PCI provides significant survival benefits.

Most conjunctival squamous cell carcinomas are removed with surgery. A few selected cases are treated with topical medication. Surgical excision with a free margin of healthy tissue is a frequent treatment modality. Radiotherapy, given as external beam radiotherapy or as brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy), can also be used to treat squamous cell carcinomas.

Most squamous cell carcinomas are removed with surgery. A few selected cases are treated with topical medication. Surgical excision with a free margin of healthy tissue is a frequent treatment modality. Radiotherapy, given as external beam radiotherapy or as brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy), can also be used to treat squamous cell carcinomas.

Mohs surgery is frequently utilized; considered the treatment of choice for squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, physicians have also utilized the method for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, throat, and neck. An equivalent method of the CCPDMA standards can be utilized by a pathologist in the absence of a Mohs-trained physician. Radiation therapy is often used afterward in high risk cancer or patient types.

Electrodessication and curettage or EDC can be done on selected squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. In areas where SCC's are known to be non-aggressive, and where the patient is not immunosuppressed, EDC can be performed with good to adequate cure rate.

High-risk squamous cell carcinoma, as defined by those occurring around the eye, ear, or nose, is of large size, is poorly differentiated, and grows rapidly, requires more aggressive, multidisciplinary management.

Nodal spread:

1. Surgical block dissection if palpable nodes or in cases of Marjolin's ulcers but the benefit of prophylactic block lymph node dissection with Marjolin's ulcers is not proven.

2. Radiotherapy

3. Adjuvant therapy may be considered in those with high-risk SCC even in the absence of evidence for local mestastasis. Imiquimod (Aldara) has been used with success for squamous cell carcinoma "in situ" of the skin and the penis, but the morbidity and discomfort of the treatment is severe. An advantage is the cosmetic result: after treatment, the skin resembles normal skin without the usual scarring and morbidity associated with standard excision. Imiquimod is not FDA-approved for any squamous cell carcinoma.

In general, squamous cell carcinomas have a high risk of local recurrence, and up to 50% do recur. Frequent skin exams with a dermatologist is recommended after treatment.

In cases of LS-SCLC, combination chemotherapy (often including cyclophosphamide, cisplatinum, doxorubicin, etoposide, vincristine and/or paclitaxel) is administered together with concurrent chest radiotherapy (RT).

Chest RT has been shown to improve survival in LS-SCLC.

Exceptionally high objective initial response rates (RR) of between 60% and 90% are seen in LS-SCLC using chemotherapy alone, with between 45% and 75% of individuals showing a "complete response" (CR), which is defined as the disappearance of all radiological and clinical signs of tumor. However, relapse rate remains high, and median survival is only 18 to 24 months.

Because SCLC usually metastasizes widely very early on in the natural history of the tumor, and because nearly all cases respond dramatically to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, there has been little role for surgery in this disease since the 1970s. However, recent work suggests that in cases of small, asymptomatic, node-negative SCLC's ("very limited stage"), surgical excision may improve survival when used prior to chemotherapy ("adjuvant chemotherapy").

Appropriate sun-protective clothing, use of broad-spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with at least SPF 50, and avoidance of intense sun exposure may prevent skin cancer.

Because most bladder cancers are invasive into the bladder wall, surgical removal is usually not possible. The majority of transitional cell carcinomas are treated with either traditional chemotherapy or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Because LCLC-RP is so rare, no clinical trials have ever been conducted that specifically address treatment of this lung cancer variant. Because LCLC-RP is considered a form of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), most physicians adhere to published NSCLC treatment guidelines in rhabdoid carcinoma cases. When possible, radical surgical resection with curative intent is the primary treatment of choice in early stage NSCLC's, and can be administered with or without adjuvant, neoadjuvant, or palliative chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, depending on the disease stage and performance status of the individual patient.

In numerous clinical trials conducted in NSCLC, several different platinum-based chemotherapy regimens have been shown to be more-or-less equally effective. LCLC's, as a subtype of NSCLC, have traditionally been included in many of these clinical trials, and have been treated like other NSCLC's. More recent trials, however, have shown that some newer agents may have particular effectiveness in prolonging survival of LCLC patients. Pemetrexed, in particular, has shown significant reduction in the hazard ratio for death when used in patients with LCLC. Taxane-based (paclitaxel, docetaxel) chemotherapy was shown to induce a complete and sustained response in a liver metastasis in a case of LCC-RP. A later-appearing metastasis within mediastinal lymph nodes in the same case also showed a durable response to a taxane alone.

There have also been reports of rhabdoid carcinomas expressing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), suggesting that targeted molecular therapy with VEGF blocking monoclonal antibodies such as bevacizumab may be active in these variants. However, evidence suggests that caution must be used when treating a cavitated rhabdoid tumor, one that contains significant components of squamous cell differentiation, or large tumors with containing major blood vessels, due to the potential high risk of life-threatening pulmonary hemorrhage.

A recent study reported a case wherein 2 courses of adjuvant therapy with cisplatin and paclitaxel, followed by oral gefitinib, were used after complete resection. The patient had had no recurrence 34 months later.

As large-volume LCLC-RP may show significant central necrosis and cavitation, prudence dictates that oncologists use extreme caution if contemplating the therapeutic use of bevacizumab, other anti-VEGF compounds, or anti-angiogenesis agents in general, which have been associated with a greatly increased risk of severe hemorrhage and hemoptysis that may be quickly fatal in cavatated pulmonary squamous cell carcinomas. Similar elevated risks have also been noted in tumors located near, or containing, large blood vessels.,

Renal medullary carcinoma is extremely rare and it is not currently possible to predict those individuals with sickle cell trait who will eventually develop this cancer. It is hoped that early detection could result in better outcomes but screening is not feasible.

Superficial tumors (those not entering the muscle layer) can be "shaved off" using an electrocautery device attached to a cystoscope, which in that case is called a resectoscope. The procedure is called transurethral resection of bladder tumor—TURBT—and serves primarily for pathological staging. In case of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer the TURBT is in itself the treatment, but in case of muscle invasive cancer, the procedure is insufficient for final treatment.

Immunotherapy by intravesicular delivery of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is also used to treat and prevent the recurrence of superficial tumors. BCG is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from attenuated (weakened) live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium bovis, that has lost its virulence in humans. BCG immunotherapy is effective in up to 2/3 of the cases at this stage, and in randomized trials has been shown to be superior to standard chemotherapy. The mechanism by which BCG prevents recurrence is unknown, but the presence of bacteria in the bladder may trigger a localized immune reaction which clears residual cancer cells.

Patients whose tumors recurred after treatment with BCG are more difficult to treat. Many physicians recommend cystectomy for these patients. This recommendation is in accordance with the official guidelines of the European Association of Urologists (EAU) and the American Urological Association (AUA) However, many patients refuse to undergo this life changing operation, and prefer to try novel conservative treatment options before opting to this last radical resort. Device assisted chemotherapy is one such group of novel technologies used to treat superficial bladder cancer. These technologies use different mechanisms to facilitate the absorption and action of a chemotherapy drug instilled directly into the bladder. Another technology - electromotive drug administration (EMDA) – uses an electric current to enhance drug absorption after surgical removal of the tumor. Another technology, thermotherapy, uses radio-frequency energy to directly heat the bladder wall, which together with chemotherapy shows a synergistic effect, enhancing each other's capacity to kill tumor cells. This technology was studied by different investigators.

In order to address the problem of micrometastatic disease which in itself has implications on longtime survival, new treatment options are dearly needed. Micrometastatic dissemination is often not treatable with only major surgery and the concept of neoadjuvant chemotherapy has evolved. In this patients first receive chemotherapy in 3 or 4 cycles, and after that proceed to major surgery. In a number of meta-analyses of randomised prospective trials worldwide, the results have shown survival benefits between 5–8% with this therapy, in a follow up time of 5 years.

Prophylactic mastectomy to reduce the risk of breast cancer is an option.

Cervical cancers can recur with symptoms of vaginal bleeding and/or discharge, pelvic pain, pain in the back and legs, leg swelling (edema), chronic cough and weight loss. It can recur in the vagina, pelvis, lymph nodes, lung, or liver. “If radiation was not given previously, recurrences that are confined to the pelvis may be treated with external beam radiation with chemotherapy and intracavitary or interstitial radiation therapy. If radiation therapy was already given, the only option is the removal of the vagina, uterus, and the bladder and/or rectum with the creation of an artificial bladder-a pelvic exenteration. The five-year survival rate after a pelvic exenteration is about 50 percent.” (womenscancercenter.com) Chemotherapy is useful in women with recurrent tumors which cannot be removed surgically or in women with metastatic diseases. Chances of survival of chemotherapy, if diagnosed in early stage, is grater than 50%.

Many treatment options for cancer exist. The primary ones include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy and palliative care. Which treatments are used depends on the type, location and grade of the cancer as well as the patient's health and preferences. The treatment intent may or may not be curative.

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with one or more cytotoxic anti-neoplastic drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) as part of a standardized regimen. The term encompasses a variety of drugs, which are divided into broad categories such as alkylating agents and antimetabolites. Traditional chemotherapeutic agents act by killing cells that divide rapidly, a critical property of most cancer cells.

Targeted therapy is a form of chemotherapy that targets specific molecular differences between cancer and normal cells. The first targeted therapies blocked the estrogen receptor molecule, inhibiting the growth of breast cancer. Another common example is the class of Bcr-Abl inhibitors, which are used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Currently, targeted therapies exist for breast cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, prostate cancer, melanoma and other cancers.

The efficacy of chemotherapy depends on the type of cancer and the stage. In combination with surgery, chemotherapy has proven useful in cancer types including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, osteogenic sarcoma, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer and certain lung cancers. Chemotherapy is curative for some cancers, such as some leukemias, ineffective in some brain tumors, and needless in others, such as most non-melanoma skin cancers. The effectiveness of chemotherapy is often limited by its toxicity to other tissues in the body. Even when chemotherapy does not provide a permanent cure, it may be useful to reduce symptoms such as pain or to reduce the size of an inoperable tumor in the hope that surgery will become possible in the future.

Angiogenesis and EGFR (HER-1) inhibitors are frequently tested in experimental settings and have shown efficacy. Treatment modalities are not sufficiently established for normal use, and it is unclear in which stage they are best used and which patients would profit.

By 2009 A number of new strategies for TNBC were being tested in clinical trials, including the PARP inhibitor BSI 201, NK012.

A novel antibody-drug conjugate known as Glembatumumab vedotin (CDX-011), which targets the protein GPNMB, has also shown encouraging clinical trial results in 2009.

PARP inhibitors had shown some promise in early trials but failed in some later trials.

Nov 2013: An accelerated approval Phase II clinical trial (METRIC) investigating glembatumumab vedotin versus capecitabine has begun, expected to enroll 300 patients with GPNMB-expressing metastatic TNBC.

Three early stage trials reported TNBC results in June 2016, for IMMU-132, Vantictumab, and atezolizumab in combination with the chemotherapy nab-paclitaxel.

Treatment and survival is determined, to a great extent, by whether or not a cancer remains localized or spreads to other locations in the body. If the cancer metastasizes to other tissues or organs it usually dramatically increases a patient's likelihood of death. Some cancers—such as some forms of leukemia, a cancer of the blood, or malignancies in the brain—can kill without spreading at all.

Once a cancer has metastasized it may still be treated with radiosurgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy, surgery, or a combination of these interventions ("multimodal therapy"). The choice of treatment depends on a large number of factors, including the type of primary cancer, the size and location of the metastases, the patient's age and general health, and the types of treatments used previously. In patients diagnosed with CUP it is often still possible to treat the disease even when the primary tumor cannot be located.

Current treatments are rarely able to cure metastatic cancer though some tumors, such as testicular cancer and thyroid cancer, are usually curable.

Palliative care, care aimed at improving the quality of life of people with major illness, has been recommended as part of management programs for metastasis.

Because of its rarity, there have been no randomized clinical trials of treatment of GCCL, and all information available derives from small retrospective institutional series or multicenter metadata.