According to the American Cancer Society, more than 92,000 men and 81,000 women are diagnosed each year with cancer of the lungs and bronchi (the air tubes leading to the lungs). Among men, the incidence of lung cancer has been declining. For women, the rate is beginning to level off after years of steady increase. The number of lung cancer deaths among women surpasses those for breast cancer. Recent studies indicate that female smokers may be more likely to develop lung cancer than male smokers, and that the disease may behave differently in men than in women. This overview focuses on non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.
Types of Lung Cancer
There are two major types of primary lung cancer: non-small cell and small cell. Each affects different types of cells in the lung, and each grows and spreads in different ways. As such, treatments for these two types of primary lung cancer vary. A diagnosis will include not only the type of lung cancer but the stage, a term that is used to describe the extent and spread of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Tumors found in the lungs sometimes originate from cancers elsewhere in the body. These tumors are called lung metastases.
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Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, is usually associated with a history of smoking. The three main types of non-small cell lung cancer are named for the type of cell found in the tumor: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma), and large cell carcinoma.
Non-small cell lung cancer is classified by one of four stages: stage I, in which the cancer is confined to the lung; stages II and III, in which the cancer is confined to the chest; and stage IV, in which the cancer has spread from the chest.
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Small Cell Lung Cancer
Small cell lung cancer (sometimes called oat cell lung cancer) accounts for 13 percent of all lung cancer cases and is always associated with a history of smoking. The extent of the disease is described using a two-stage system. A case can either be limited (meaning the cancer is confined to the portion of the lung where it originated) or extensive (meaning the cancer has spread outside the lung in which it began or to other parts of the body).
Other Thoracic Cancers
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Carcinoid tumors
Carcinoid tumors are rare, slow-growing, neuroendocrine tumors that may be either noncancerous or malignant. They usually produce excessive amounts of hormones. Carcinoid tumors are usually treated using surgery and sometimes chemotherapy.
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Thymoma
Thymomas are rare tumors of the thymus gland, which is located in the chest. Thymomas are usually treated using chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.
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Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the tissue that lines the body's internal organs, known as the mesothelium.
