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Lung cancer - small cell - Overview

Alternative Names

Cancer - lung - small cell; Small cell lung cancer; SCLC

Definition of Lung cancer - small cell:

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a fast-growing type of lung cancer. It tends to spread much more quickly than non-small cell lung cancer.

There are three different types of small cell lung cancer:

Small cell carcinoma (oat cell cancer)
Mixed small cell/large cell carcinoma
Combined small cell carcinoma

Most small cell lung cancers are the oat cell type.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

About 15% of all lung cancer cases are small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is slightly more common in men than women.

Smoking almost always causes small cell lung cancer. This type of lung cancer is rare in those who have never smoked.

Small cell is the most aggressive form of lung cancer. It usually starts in the air tubes (bronchi) in the center of the chest. Although the cancer cells are small, they grow quickly and create large tumors. These tumors can rapidly spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, liver, and bone.

Reviewed last on: 9/4/2008
Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, Washington; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2006. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society; 2006.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Lung cancer screening. Ann Int Med. 2004;140:738-739.

Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKena WG. Clinical Oncology. 3rd ed. Orlando, Fl: Churchill Livingstone; 2004:1708-1722.

Jackman DM, Johnson BE. Small-cell lung cancer. Lancet. 2005;366:1385-1396.

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