Lung cancer

Lung cancer
Classification and external resources
Colored scanning electron micrograph of a lung cancer cell during cell division.
ICD-10	C33.-C34.
ICD-9	162
DiseasesDB	7616
MedlinePlus	007194
eMedicine	med/1333 med/1336 emerg/335 radio/807 radio/405 radio/406
MeSH	D002283

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both of the lungs . Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. Lung cancer kills 1.3 million people each year, more than any other cancer. It is currently the leading causing of cancer death in both men and women, it kills more women than breast cancer, ovarian cancer and uterine cancers together.

The large majority of people who get lung cancer have smoked for many years. However, there are certain types of lung cancers that appear in otherwise healthy patients who have never smoked.

There are 2 main types of Lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer typically responds well to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and non-small cell lung cancer is more commonly treated with surgical removal of the lung tumor.

Non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) account for about 85% to 90% of lung cancer cases. There are three types of non-small cell lung cancer:

• Squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma
• Large cell (undifferentiated) carcinoma

The white mass in the lung on left is a bronchogenic carcinoma, the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in industrialized nations.

Lung cancer in the left bronchus as seen with a bronchoscope.

Three-dimensional (3D) CT image, shows a tumor in the left lung.