Added: 02/16/2006 |
Lung Cancer Types - Who To Recognize Them and How to Treat ThemSmall cell lung cancer is less common than non-small cell lung cancer. Sometimes they call it out cell cancer. This one of the lung cancer types grows more quickly and is more likely to expanse to other organs in the body. About twenty per cent of all lung cancers are small cell cancers that are almost always caused by smoking. These cancers are composed of small dark cells that tend to start in the larger breathing tubes and grow rapidly becoming quite large.
In turn, there are three small cell lung cancer types. These categories include many different kinds of cells. The small cell lung cancer types are named for the kinds of cells located in the cancer and how the cells look when viewed under a microscope: small cell carcinoma (out cell cancer), mixed small cell/large cell carcinoma and combined small cell carcinoma.
After small cell lung cancer has been diagnosed, tests are done to warn out if cancer cells have extended within the chest or to other parts of the body. The process used to find out if cancer has spread within the chest or to other parts of the body is called staging. The knowledge received from the staging process determines the stage of the complaint. It is very important to know the stage in order to plan the best remedy. Such tests and procedures as bone marrow biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography scan, and radionuclide bone scan my be used in the staging process.
Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than small cell lung cancer, and it commonly grows and spreads more slowly. Speaking about the non-small cell lung cancer types one should notice that there are five different kinds of cancer cells. The cancer cells of each type grow and spread in different ways: squamous cell carcinoma - cancer that begins in squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells that look like fish scales. It is also called epidermoid carcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma - cancer that begins in cells that have secretory properties. Large cell carcinoma - cancer in which the cells are large and look abnormal when viewed under a microscope. Adenosquamous carcinoma - cancer that begins in cells that look flattened when viewed under a microscope. These cells also have glandular (secretory) properties. Undifferentiated carcinoma - cancer cells that do not look like normal cells and multiply uncontrollably.
There are stages that are used for non-small cell lung cancer:
- Occult stage: in the hidden stage, cancer cells are found in spittle (mucus coughed up from the lungs), but no tumor can be found in the lung.
- Stage 0: in this stage (carcinoma in situ), cancer is limited to the lung and is found in a few layers of cells only. It has not grown through the top lining of the lung.
- Stage I: the cancer is in the lung only, with normal tissue around the tumor. Stage I is classified into stages IA and IB, based on the size of the tumor.
- Stage II: cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or to the chest wall, the diaphragm, or the mediastinal pleura. Stage II is also divided into stage IIA and stage IIB, based on the size of the tumor and whether it has spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage III: the cancer has either spread to the lymph nodes in the mediastinum or spread to the lymph nodes on the opposite side of the chest or in the lower neck. This stage is divided into stage IIIA (which is sometimes treated with surgery) and stage IIIB (which is rarely treated with surgery).
- Stage IV: cancer has spread to other parts of the body or to another lobe of the lungs.
Recurrent non-small cell lung cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The cancer may come back in the brain, lung, or other parts of the body.
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