Lung cancer: non-small cell

There are three main subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer:

Squamous cell cancer

• typically central
• associated with parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) secretion → hypercalcaemia
• strongly associated with finger clubbing
• hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPOA)

Adenocarcinoma

• typically peripheral
• most common type of lung cancer in non-smokers, although the majority of patients who develop lung adenocarcinoma are smokers

Large cell lung carcinoma

• typically peripheral
• anaplastic, poorly differentiated tumours with a poor prognosis
• may secrete β-hCG