Lessons and opportunities from improved understanding of global lung cancer histological subtypes

The Lancet
Oct 11, 2023

Lessons and opportunities from improved understanding of global lung cancer histological subtypes


In a population-based study of variations in lung cancer incidence by histological subtype in 2020, Yanting Zhang and colleagues 1 have provided, for the first time to my knowledge, data on a global scale, highlighting substantial geographical and sex-based differences. Although there are over 30 different primary lung malignancies, the four most common are adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large-cell carcinoma, and small-cell carcinoma, which account for most cases. 2 The different histological subtypes have different pathogeneses, prognoses, and treatment approaches, reinforcing the importance of an accurate diagnosis. 2 Zhang and colleagues report a worldwide trend of increasing adenocarcinoma incidence relative to squamous cell carcinoma, with adenocarcinoma being the most common type of lung cancer in all 185 countries in women and in 150 (81%) of 185 countries in men in 2020, supporting findings from previous smaller studies, 3 , 4 and these findings should not be ignored.

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