| Large-cell lung carcinoma | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-O: | M8012/3 |
| MeSH | D018287 |
Large-cell lung carcinoma (LCLC) is a heterogeneous group of undifferentiated malignant neoplasms originating from transformed epithelial cells in the lung.
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In most series, LCLC's comprise between 5% and 10% of all lung cancers.
According to the Nurses' Health Study, the risk of large cell lung carcinoma increases with a previous history of tobacco smoking, with a previous smoking duration of 30 to 40 years giving a relative risk of approximately 2.3 compared to never-smokers, and a duration of more than 40 years giving a relative risk of approximately 3.6.[2]
LCLC is, in effect, a "diagnosis of exclusion", in that the tumor cells lack light microscopic characteristics that would classify the neoplasm as a small-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or other more specific histologic type of lung cancer.
LCLC is differentiated from small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) primarily by the larger size of the anaplastic cells, a higher cytoplasmic-to-nuclear size ratio, and a lack of "salt-and-pepper" chromatin.
The newest revisions of the World Health Organization Histological Typing of Lung Cancer schema include several variants of LCLC, including (a) basaloid, (b) clear cell, (c) lymphoepithelioma-like, (d) rhabdoid phenotype, and (e) large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.
In addition, a "subvariant", called "combined large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma", or c-LCNEC, is recognized under the new system. To be designated a c-LCNEC, the tumor must contain at least 10% LCNEC cells, in combination with at least 10% of other forms of NSCLC.
One clinically significant subtype is "large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma",[3] which is believed to derive from neuroendocrine cells.[4]
Patients typically present with a non-productive cough and weight loss.
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