Non-small-cell lung cancer | |
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Other names | Non-small-cell lung carcinoma |
Micrograph of a squamous carcinoma, a type of non-small-cell lung carcinoma, FNA specimen, Pap stain. | |
Specialty | Oncology |
Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), or non-small-cell lung carcinoma, is any type of epithelial lung cancer other than small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers.[1][2][3] As a class, NSCLCs are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, compared to small-cell carcinoma. When possible, they are primarily treated by surgical resection with curative intent, although chemotherapy has been used increasingly both preoperatively (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) and postoperatively (adjuvant chemotherapy).