Lung Cancer | Dr Meenu Walia | DNB Medical Oncologist

  • Lung cancer, also known as carcinoma of the lung or pulmonary carcinoma, is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung.
  • If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung by process of metastasis into nearby tissue or other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in the lung, known as primary lung cancers, are carcinomas that derive from epithelial cells. The main primary types are small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The most common symptoms are coughing (including coughing up blood), weight loss, shortness of breath, and chest pains.

Types of Lung Cancer

Lung cancers are broadly classified into two types: small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). SCLC comprises about 20% of lung cancers and are the most aggressive and rapidly growing of all lung cancers. NSCLC are the most common lung cancers, accounting for about 80% of all lung cancers. NSCLC can be divided into three main types that are named based upon the type of cells found in the tumor: Adenocarcinomas, Squamous cell carcinomas, large cell carcinomas and mixtures of different types of NSCLC are also seen.

Stages of Lung Cancer

There are two major types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
    Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 85 percent of lung cancers. Among them are these types of tumors:
  1. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer in the United States among both men and women.
  2. Squamous cell carcinoma (which is also called epidermoid carcinoma) forms in the lining of the bronchial tubes.
  3. Large cell carcinomas refer to non-small cell lung cancers that are neither adenocarcinomas nor epidermoid cancers.
Stages of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Stage I:The cancer is located only in the lungs and has not spread to any lymph nodes.
  • Stage II:The cancer is in the lung and nearby lymph nodes.
  • Stage III:Cancer is found in the lung and in the lymph nodes in the middle of the chest, also described as locally advanced disease. Stage III has two subtypes:

  1. If the cancer has spread only to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest where the cancer started, it is called stage IIIA.
  2. If the cancer has spread only to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest where the cancer started, it is called stage IIIA.
Stage IV:This is the most advanced stage of lung cancer, and is also described as advanced disease. This is when the cancer has spread to both lungs, to fluid in the area around the lungs, or to another part of the body, such as the liver or other organs.
Small Cell Lung Cancer
Small cell lung cancer accounts for the remaining 15 percent of lung cancers in the United States. Small cell lung cancer results from smoking even more so than non-small cell lung cancer, and grow more rapidly and spread to other parts of the body earlier than non-small cell lung cancer. It is also more responsive to chemotherapy.
Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer
Limited stage:In this stage, cancer is found on one side of the chest, involving just one part of the lung and nearby lymph nodes.
Extensive stage:In this stage, cancer has spread to other regions of the chest or other parts of the body.

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