Histopathology of lung cancer.
Lung cancer is a complex problem because there are a number of different histological cell types. Those commonly grouped as bronchogenic carcinoma (epidermoid carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, large cell undifferentiated carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and adenosquamous carcinoma) account for more than 90% of the new cases and the deaths each year. The natural history of bronchogenic carcinoma suggests that many years pass while the cancer evolves from a pre-cancerous change in the bronchial mucosa, to undetectable microscopic cancer, to preclinical asymptomatic cancer and finally into a full symptomatic cancer, the phase of most lung malignancies in the tissue at diagnosis. Therefore, students of the aetiology of this disease must consider what has happened to patients 5-20 years before lung cancer is diagnosed.
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Department of Internal Medicine, MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, University of Texas System Cancer Center, Houston.
D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors