Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung overview
|
Sarcomatoid Carcinoma of the Lung Microchapters |
|
Differentiating Sarcomatoid Carcinoma of the Lung from other Diseases |
|---|
|
Diagnosis |
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung overview On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung overview |
|
Directions to Hospitals Treating Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:
Overview
Sarcomatoid carcinomas are rare, aggressive, malignant cancer and can occur in different organs such as the thyroid gland, bone, skin, breast, pancreas, liver, urinary tract, and lung. Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung is a group of poorly differentiated non-small cell lung carcinomas. Sarcomatoid carcinoma is defined as a biphasic tumor with morphological characteristics of both, carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. Sarcomatoid cancer of the lung is a rare type of malignancy and it comprises of only 0.3% to 1.3% of cases of all lung cancers. The pathogenesis of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung is characterized by a rare epithelial origin, and morphologic features suggestive of a malignant mesenchymal tumor. The EGFR gene and K-ras mutations have been associated with the development of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung. The prevalence of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung is approximately 0.4 cases per 100,000 individuals worldwide. Common risk factors in the development of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung are smoking, family history of lung cancer, exposure to high levels of air pollution, asbestos, radiation therapy to the chest, radon gas, occupational exposure to chemical carcinogens, and previous lung diseases. If left untreated, the majority of patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung may develop distant metastasis via the lymphogenic route. Prognosis is generally poor, even worse than other non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. The 5-year survival rate for patients with sarcomatoid cancer of the lung is 28.7%.