title: Histological classification of lung cancer.
abstract: A histological classification should provide guidelines for tumor diagnosis in order to evaluate patient prognosis and therapy. Pre-invasive lesions identified as precursors of invasive lung carcinoma are: squamous dysplasia/carcinoma in situ, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia and idiopatic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia. Squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are the commonest types of lung carcinoma with the latter increasing in many countries mainly for changed smoking habits. Bronchioloalveolar carcinomas include exclusively noninvasive mucinous or non-mucinous tumors. Neuroendocrine tumors range from well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (typical carcinoid) to intermediate grade (atypical carcinoma) to very aggressive poorly differentiated lesions (large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and small cell carcinoma).
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Anatomia e Istologia Patologica, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Policlinico "A. Gemelli", Roma, Italy. claudiamaggiore@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maggiore
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mulè
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fadda
authors.forename: Esther Diana
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Libero
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lauriola
authors.forename: Fabio Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Vecchio
authors.forename: Arnaldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capelli
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology; D014944:World Health Organization