Primary lung cancer comes in a variety of forms and is categorised into two basic categories
Types of Lung Cancers.
It can be confusing when doctors talk about primary and secondary lung cancer. What does it mean if your doctor says your cancer is a primary lung cancer?
A primary lung cancer is a cancer that begins in the lungs. If a primary lung cancer spreads to other regions of the body (known as metastasis) it is referred to primary lung cancer metastatic to the location of the spread. For example, a cancer that begins in the lungs and spreads to the brain would be termed “primary lung cancer metastatic to the brain.”
Cancers that begin in other regions of the body and spread to the lungs are not primary lung cancers. Sometimes they are described as “secondary cancers” but most often they are defined first by the site of the cancer followed by “metastatic to the lungs.” For example, a breast cancer that spreads to the lungs may be called “breast cancer metastatic to the lungs” or “metastatic lung cancer from the breast.” On the other hand, if someone with breast cancer developed another unrelated cancer that began in the lungs, that tumor would be considered a primary lung cancer.
A second area of cancer in the lung resulting from the spread of the first tumor would be referred to as a secondary cancer, or “primary lung cancer metastatic to another region in the lungs.”
Likewise, sometimes people who have had lung cancer develop another lung cancer at a later date. If the second tumor is a “new cancer” and unrelated to the original cancer, it would be called a primary lung cancer. If instead the second tumor was related to spread of the first tumor it may be called a secondary cancer, or more accurately, “lung cancer metastatic to another region of the lungs.”
Sometimes two separate cancers develop in the lungs at the same time. In this scenario both tumors would be considered primary lung cancers.
On rare occasions, a tumor is found in the lungs and doctors can’t be certain where it originated – the original site of the cancer is unknown. Some cancers are only discovered after they have spread to many parts of the body, including the lungs. In this case, the cancer would be called “metastatic cancer to the lungs of unknown origin.”
- Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)
- Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC).
This kind is seen in around 15 to 20 out of every 100 cases of lung cancer (between 15 and 20%).
Smoking is typically the culprit.
These tumours frequently spread quite quickly.
Neuroendocrine tumours are another classification for small cell lung cancer.
Rare tumours called neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arise in neuroendocrine system cells.
The neuroendocrine cells of the lung serve as the initial site of the tumour in small cell lung cancer.
Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 80 to 85 out of every 100 lung cancer cases in the UK (NSCLC). Adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and big cell carcinoma are the three primary forms.
They are categorised as a unit because of their shared behaviours and treatment reactions.
Adenocarcinoma
This form, which is the most prevalent, begins in the cells that line the lining of your airways and produce mucus.
cancerous squamous cells
The flat cells that line the surface of your airways are where this kind grows. It usually develops close to the lung’s centre.
cancer with many cells
Under a microscope, the cancer cells seem big and rounded.
Various other non-small cell cancers
Your doctor won’t be able to identify the sort of cancer you have if your cancer cells seem under a microscope to be very immature. The team can do further tests to get more data from the sample.
Other lungs-related malignancies
In the lung, there are other tumour forms. They are somewhat rarer. Examples include
lung sarcoma lung lymphoma tumours of the salivary gland type
These are treated differently from SCLC and NSCLC.
Pancoast tumours are the name for cancers that affect the upper part of the lung.