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Types of Lung Cancer

Most lung cancers fall into two types of categories: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cancer. Each type grows and spreads at different rates and each is treated differently.

 

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is the most common type of lung cancer comprising of nearly 80% of all cases. Non-small cell lung cancer is divided into three different subcategories.

 

  • Squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma) originates in the thin, flat cells that line the passages of the respiratory tract.

 

  • Adenocarcinoma begins in the cells that form the lining of the lungs.

 

  • Large cell carcinomas make up a group of cancers that look large and abnormal under a microscope.

 

Small Cell Lung Cancer makes up nearly 20% of all lung cancer cases. It is associated with cancer cells smaller in size than most other cancer cells. These cells may be small, but they can rapidly reproduce to form large tumors. Their size and quick rate of reproduction allows them to spread to the lymph nodes and to other organs of the body.