What Is the Most Common Type of Lung Cancer?

Non-small cell lung cancer, often shortened to NSCLC, includes adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. These cancers differ in their cell appearance, location, growth pattern, and treatment options. Small cell lung cancer is a separate category with different behaviour and treatment planning.

A cough, breathlessness, chest discomfort, hoarse voice, or repeated chest infections can occur for many reasons. A symptom alone cannot identify the cancer type. Doctors use scans, a biopsy, and sometimes laboratory testing of tumour features to establish the diagnosis and assess whether it has spread.

Arrange an assessment for a persistent cough, unexplained breathlessness, coughing blood, or a voice change that does not settle. At an appointment, share smoking or vaping history, workplace exposures, previous cancer treatment, and current medicines. If NSCLC is diagnosed, ask which subtype and stage the biopsy and scans show.

Treatment may involve surgery such as a lung lobectomy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted medicine, or immunotherapy. Genomic tumour profiling may identify changes that help guide systemic treatment. The plan is tailored to tumour features, spread, lung function, and your health. Explore [Lung Cancer](/conditions/lung-cancer/) and [Genomic Tumour Profiling](/treatments/diagnostics-and-staging/genomic-tumour-profiling/).

Seek urgent care for severe breathlessness, coughing up more than a small amount of blood, sudden chest pain, fainting, new confusion, or weakness affecting one side of the body. These symptoms can signal a serious problem that needs immediate assessment, regardless of whether cancer has been diagnosed.

Ask: Which subtype do I have? What is the stage and goal of treatment? Has the tumour been tested for genomic changes? Would surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy be suitable? Should symptoms such as pain or breathlessness be managed by a palliative care team alongside cancer treatment?