What is adenocarcinoma with small cells?

Adenocarcinoma with small cells concerns the type of cancer characterized by tumors containing small eggs or round cells with a small amount of dense liquid called cytoplasm. Two of the most common alternative terms are lung cancer with small cells (SCLC) and small cell cancer. Although the first suggests the most popular place of occurrence, adenocarcinoma with small cells is able to appear on any part of the body that has epithelial tissue. While the term carcinoma refers to cancer that develops from the epithelium, adenocarcinoma specifically refers to cancer that develops from a specialized epithelial tissue called spinocellular epithelium. This is tissue characterized by cells that have a flat and scaly structure, and usually occur in organs and glands.

One of the main places of the spinocellular epithelium is the lungs and therefore adenocarcinoma with small cells is usually associated with this organ. When adenocarcinoma with small cells appears in the lungs, it can also be referred to asOat cell cancer, which is another description of the shape of cancer cells. It is almost always caused by cigarette smoking, and therefore people reduce the risk of catching the disease by not smoking at all. At SCLC, cancer begins in bronchi or passages that transport air to the lungs. According to the National Institute of Healthcare of the United States (NIH), adenocarcinoma with small cells represents about 15 percent of all cases of lung cancer.

lungs are not the only place where small cell adenocarcinoma can occur. Given that adenocarcinoma tends to come from tissues that differ glands, prostate and pancreas are other prominent places of occurrence. However, these types of adenocarcinoma with small cells are extremely rare. In all cases, adenocarcinoma with small cells is considered to be highly metastatic, which means that it has a high tendency to spread to other parts of the body. The disease also tends to be diagnosed when it is metastasized or is in advanced stage.

However, there are certain symptomswhich should be careful, including chest pain, cough, breathing and swallowing, loss and weakness of appetite. Doctors usually rely on tests such as bone scanning and computed tomography (CT), chest X -rays, blood number or magnetic resonance (MRIS) for diagnosis and treatment of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Regardless of the affected organ or gland or stages of disease progression, the prognosis for adenocarcinoma with small cells is generally poor. Only about one to 20 percent of patients live after five years after completion of treatment.