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What is lung cancer?
Lung cancer is the growth of malignant or abnormal cells in the lung. Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer death in the United States among both men and women, with an estimated 171,600 new cases and 158,800 deaths in 1999. Despite aggressive approaches to therapy and new lung cancer medication, survival rates have changed little in the last decade.
There are two major types of lung cancer. Depending on how cells look under a microscope, they are classified as either small cell lung cancer or non-small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer grow and spread in different ways.
The more common type of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer. This type of cancer grows and spreads slowly. Other names for non-small cell lung cancer are squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma), adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.
The less common type of lung cancer is small cell lung cancer. This cancer is also called oat cell cancer. Small cell cancer spreads quickly and is more likely to spread to other organs in the body.
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