There are two main categories of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Each type of non-small cell lung cancer has different of cancer cells, which grow and spread in different ways:
- Squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma).
- Large cell carcinoma: Cancer that may begin in several types of large cells.
- Adenocarcinoma: Cancer that begins in the cells that line the alveoli and make substances such as mucus.
Other less common types of non-small cell lung cancer are: pleomorphic, carcinoid tumor, salivary gland carcinoma, and unclassified carcinoma.
There are two main types of small cell lung cancer, again according to cell type: small cell carcinoma (oat cell cancer) and combined small cell carcinoma.
SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Lung and Bronchus Cancer. National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/lungb.html