Carcinoma is a type of cancer.
Even though carcinoma is used synonymously with cancer, even among some professionals, carcinoma is actually a specific type of cancer. Malignant tumors that show up in epithelial cells are carcinomas. Even though there are different types of carcinoma, all types are malignant, or cancerous. Carcinomas can invade surrounding tissue, meaning it can spread throughout the body. Begin your investigation of carcinoma with the following information.
Instructions
1. Investigate the origins of the cancer. Carcinoma begins in the tissue that lines body organs or in the skin. Carcinomas are common in the stomach, prostate, lung, liver, colon and breast.
2. Research the five major types of carcinoma: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, large cell undifferentiated carcinoma and sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma.
3. Understand that adenocarcinoma develops in cells that line glandular types of internal organs. For example, you'll find adenocarcinoma in the breasts, prostate, lungs, colon, pancreas, stomach and cervix.
4. Find the squamous cells in the body to look for squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cells look like fish scales under the microscope, and you'll find them in the lining of internal organs, in respiratory and digestive tract passages, and on the skin. Squamous cell carcinoma occurs in the skin, lungs, prostate, cervix and vagina.
5. Consider that small cell carcinoma is a type of small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer makes up 10 to 15 percent of all lung cancers and is an aggressive cancer that attacks tissue in the lungs.
6. Note that large cell undifferentiated carcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer, which makes up 85 to 90 percent of all lung cancers. Non-small cell lung cancer can appear in any section of the lung. It spreads and grows very quickly.
7. Address the fact that sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma is a rare cancer that occurs in the paranasal sinuses or in the nasal cavity.
8. Educate yourself about treatment options for carcinoma. Chemotherapy, radiation and special surgery can help treat this type of cancer. If left untreated, carcinoma will lead to death in most cases.
Tags: cell carcinoma, cell lung, cell lung cancer, lung cancer, undifferentiated carcinoma, type cancer
