Let's Talk About Lung Cancer Types

虽然这是真的that all lung cancers are made up of cells that have run amuck, abnormally growing, replicating, and forming masses in the lungs, there are two distinct categories of lung cancer: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). These two groups make up the most common lung cancer types, but there are other lung cancers that don’t fit neatly into either of those boxes. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, and you’re wondering what your type means for your future, read on.

Lung Cancer Types

Our Pro Panel

我们前往肺癌中的一些国家顶级专家，为您带来最新的信息。

Jacob Sands, M.D.

胸椎医疗肿瘤科医生和教练在医学中

Dana-Farber癌症研究所和哈佛医学院

波士顿，马

伊丽莎白德克斯特，M.D.

胸外科医生和胸外科部的质量保证官

罗斯威尔公园综合癌症中心

布法罗，纽约

Josephine (Joy) Feliciano, M.D.

Medical Oncologist, Assistant Professor of Oncology

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Baltimore, MD

What Are the Most Common Types of Lung Cancer?

如果你最近收到了lung cancerdiagnosis, odds are that it was for either non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or small cell lung cancer (SCLC)—the two most common types of the disease. While the names non-small and small cell would have you think their differences are all related to the size of the cancer cell, that’s actually not entirely true.

NSCLCand SCLC have distinct structural and behavioral differences, and thus different treatment protocols as well. Knowing which type you have (和什么阶段）对于确保您获得最佳待遇至关重要。

Getting a handle on all the information out there can feel overwhelming, we know. It’s a lot for anyone who’s been newly diagnosed to digest. To simplify matters, we asked top lung cancer experts for their insights and advice and dug through the medical literature to bring you the most up-to-date, accurate info possible. Here you go: HealthCentral’s soup-to-nuts take on lung cancer types.

什么是非小细胞肺癌？

非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)是迄今为止the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for up to 85% of all lung cancer cases. To make things more complicated, there are three main types of NSCLC: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. And (we know, we know) there are a few other types of NSCLC on top of that, that occur less frequently. The subtypes of NSCLC are all slightly different and are categorized based on how their cells look under a microscope. Nevertheless, there are several things they share in common:

• 生长：非小细胞肺癌generally grow and spread to other parts of the body more slowly than small cell lung cancer.

• Location:These cancers arise in the epithelial cells, which are the cells that line the lungs. They most often appear in the center of the lung or along the peripheral (although there are always exceptions).

• Causes:吸烟占所有NSCLC病例的85％。环境和职业暴露还可以导致NSCLC，作为遗传突变。

• 治疗方法：可以用手术，化疗，放射治疗，靶向治疗或上述所有组合治疗非小细胞肺癌。虽然使用NSCLC，化疗趋于不太成功，但遗传测试可以帮助确定哪些患者有哪些有利的结果。

What Are the Main Types of NSCLC?

Adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma all fall under the umbrella of NSCLC. Each subtype develops differently but these cancers are grouped together because they share similar treatment methods and outcomes. Here’s the breakdown:

Adenocarcinoma

Up to 40% of NSCLC are adenocarcinoma, making this is the most common type of lung cancer in the U.S. Even though it’s strongly linked to smoking, it’s also the most predominant NSCLC to be diagnosed in non-smokers.

腺癌始于腺细胞中，如分泌粘液的腺细胞，并且经常在肺泡中发生微小的气囊。与其他肺癌相比，这一个更可能是局部的（包含在一个区域）。

20岁和46岁之间的妇女和人民更有可能具有腺癌而不是其他形式的肺癌。

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This type of lung cancer accounts for 25% to 30% of NSCLC and it’s the subtype that’s most associated with smoking. Squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma) involves the squamous cells, thin and flat cells that line the inside of the bronchial tubes.

This disease often develops in the center of the lungs or in one of the bronchial airways. Squamous cell lung cancer has the potential to create abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood, which can cause confusion, constipation, and dehydration.

Large Cell Carcinoma

大细胞癌起源于neuroendocrine cells, which are like a hybrid of nerve cells and hormone-secreting cells. This subtype, which accounts for about 5% of NSCLC, is a little trickier than the other lung cancers to diagnose. The diagnosis is given after determining that there are no specific features that make the cancer either squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma.

Large cell carcinoma can occur in any part of the lung. The bulk of these lung cancers are found in men.

The term large cell carcinoma is sometimes used interchangeably with undifferentiated lung cancer. However, they’re not exactly the same. While large cell carcinoma originates from neuroendocrine cells, undifferentiated lung cancer means that the cell’s origin can’t be determined at all.

额外的NSCLC类型

Some non-small cell lung cancers can be further broken down based on specific genetic mutations that can be uncovered via a biomarker (genomic or molecular) screening. For instance, EGFR positive lung cancer refers to lung cancers that have tested positive for an EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutation.

This specific mutation is present in roughly 10% of non-small cell lung cancers and it’s found in nearly half of all never-smokers with NSCLC. If a mutation is found, sometimes physicians can tailor treatment decisions to have the greatest impact on that specific mutation.

What Is Small Cell Lung Cancer?

与前面提到的大细胞癌一样，所有小细胞肺癌都是一种神经内分泌肿瘤。这意味着SCLC从肺部中的神经内分泌细胞开始。这些细胞负责诸如帮助控制空气和肺部血流的功能。

含有小细胞肺癌（也称为小细胞癌或燕麦细胞癌），只有一种亚型：组合的小细胞癌占所有SCLC的2％至5％。基本上，这种类型的肺癌是SCLC和NSCLC的母肌。

Although it’s faster-growing andquicker to metastasize, small cell lung cancer is not as prevalent as NSCLC, accounting for just 10% to 15% of all lung cancer cases. SCLC is slightly more common in men than women. Here are some shared characteristics of SCLC:

• 生长：SCLC spreads quickly and is more likely to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body) than NSCLC.

• Location:SCLC经常在支气管中开始，主要通道进入胸部中心的肺部。然而，有时，SCLC可以出现在肺的周边。

• Causes:Almost all cases of small cell lung cancer are due to smoking. SCLC is extremely rare in never-smokers.

• 治疗方法：个人智慧SCLC通常用放射治疗和化疗治疗。手术尚未显示出这种肺癌的结果。

Are there any other types of lung cancers?

There are a few cancers that develop in the lungs that don’t fit into the NSCLC or SCLC categories. These include:

Carcinoid Lung Tumors

Like small cell lung cancer, carcinoid lung tumors are a type of neuroendocrine tumor. But unlike SCLC, carcinoid lung tumors tend to grow very slowly and rarely metastasize. Carcinoid tumors in the lungs can be divided into two categories:

• 典型的：slow-growing, often contained to the lungs

• Atypical:faster-growing, more likely to metastasize

These cancers are usually treated with surgery. If the tumor cannot be removed, however, chemotherapy will likely be used. (Carcinoid lung tumors may also be noncancerous.)

唾液腺型肺癌癌

This very rare lung cancer was formally dubbed bronchial adenomas and includes adenoid cystic carcinomas and mucoepidermoid carcinomas of the lung. Salivary gland-type carcinomas are thought to start in glands of the airways. These cancers are often treated surgically and sometimes with chemotherapy as well.

Pleuropulmonary Blastoma

Another not-so-common cancer, pleuropulmonary blastoma either grows in the lungs themselves or in the pleura, a thin membrane that lines the surface of the lungs. This cancer affects mostly children and has zero connection to adult lung cancer or its causes. Technically, this is a soft tissue cancer (aka sarcoma), not lung cancer.

Mesothelioma

This rare cancer develops in the pleura, which is the thin membrane that separates the lung from the chest wall. Exposure to asbestos is the usual cause.

And that completes your tour through some of the common—and not-so-common—types of lung cancer. If you’ve recently been diagnosed, most likely you have either NSCLC and SCLC or a subtype therein. It’s scary, we know, to receive news like this, and it’s natural to worry about what happens next. Try to find some peace is knowing that, because lung cancer is one of the most common cancers, a lot of research has been done on treatment. Your doctor will talk with you about the best path forward, and we’ll be here to answer your questions along the way.

遇见我们的作家

Holly Pevzner

Holly Pevzner specializes in creating health, nutrition, parenting and pregnancy content for a variety of publications, such asEatingWell,Family Circle,Parents， 和Real Simple。Before becoming a full-time writer, Holly held senior staff positions at预防,健康， 和自己magazines, covering medical health and psychology. She was also a contributing editor atScholastic Parent & Child杂志。她居住在纽约布鲁克林的家人。

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