Lung cancer is cancer that starts in the lungs. Cancer is a disease where cancer cells grow out of control, taking over normal cells and organs in the body.
There are two major types of lung cancer. Each type of lung cancer grows and spreads in different ways. Each type may be treated differently.
Non-small cell lung cancer
This is the most common type of lung cancer. It usually spreads more slowly than other lung cancers. There are three major types of non-small cell lung cancer:
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Adenocarcinoma
- Large cell carcinoma
Small cell lung cancer
This is a less common type of lung cancer and it spreads faster than non-small-cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is named for the size of cancer cells, which can only be seen under a microscope. There are three major types of small cell lung cancer:
- Small cell carcinoma
- Mixed small cell/large cell
- Combined small cell carcinoma
There are also other types of lung cancer.
