Lung cancer is a very complex type of cancer, as most cancers are in fact, mainly because of the fact that it can take more forms and require different treatments for each of its stages and types. Diagnosing and accurately staging the cancer is essential. There are two main types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, the last one being the most common one. These can also be further divided into subtypes. Non-small cell lung cancer includes squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell lung cancer.

Bronchoalveolar lung cancer is a type of non-small lung cancer, also referred to as a subtype of adenocarcinoma. Its name obviously comes from the bronchi. These are the passageways in which the trachea splits when it reaches the lungs. The bronchi also divide into smaller tubes called bronchioles which end in tiny sacks of air called alveoli, this being where the exchange of gasses between the lung and the blood occurs. Just like all cancers, lung cancer develops when cells begin to grow and divide out of control. Bronchoalveolar lung cancer usually start in the lungs and spreads along the membranes that separate the alveoli.


Adenocarcinoma is a frequent type of lung cancer and it actually accounts for 40% of all lung cancers, and the number of cancers attributed to carcinoma is increasing with every year. The death rates for this type of lung cancer can range between 2% and 14%. Curiously enough, bronchoalveolar lung cancer is the most common one among people who don't smoke. This makes it especially difficult to determine its causes. However, the symptoms are line for the other forms of lung cancer. Unfortunately, this type too does not show any significant symptoms before already reaching a very advances stage.

Diagnosing it is done just as for the other types of lung cancer and the process starts with a x-ray and moves on to other specialized imaging tests like CT scan and MRI. Ultrasound and PET scans are also recommended sometimes. The final test, meant to confirm or rule out lung cancer once and for all is the biopsy.

The treatment and management plan for this type of cancer is also very complicated because it varies from stage to stage. Stage 1 is treated through surgery and the 5-year survival rate is 75%. Surgery at this stage is meant to remove the infected lobe or just a part of the lobe, most of the time being enough to remove the cancer completely.


By the last stage, surgery is not only useless but the cancer is actually often enough considered to be incurable, with a 5 year survival rate of only 2%.

Clinical trials are also a very good option for most but apart from giving people hope and a reason to prolong their life, they haven't been so successful for terminal cancers so far.