There are over 200 different types of cancer known to man. Understanding the different cancer types is important in understanding their diagnosis, management and prognosis.
Of the known cancer types, only ten percent of them are treatable with chemotherapy. The type of cancers called epithelial cancers like breast and certain skin cancers are more resistant to treatment.
Cancers types could be described in terms of the kind of cells from which the cancer arises, or based on the part of the body it exists in like skin cancer, or whether it is a childhood or adult cancer. All these different classes affects their behaviour, how they spread, treatment options and out come after treatment.
Cell Type
Carcinomas are cancers that originate from what is called epithelial cells. They make up over 85% of cancer types.
Epithelial cells are the types of cells that line the outside and inner walls of the body, like skin on the outside and include linings of the bowel, wind pipe, lungs, and urinary or genital tracts on the inside.
These lining cells divide regularly and are changed on daily basis. When there is error in the DNA that control cell division, cancer could occur in this cell type, causing carcinoma.
Examples of this kind of tumours are oral cancer, bowel or colon cancer, lung cancer, bronchial cancer or skin cancer to name a few.
They are a type of solid tumours. These types of cancer tend to spread through lymph more than other types.
Sarcomas are types of cancer arising from connective tissues like muscles, bones and cartilage.
They make up about 6% of cancer types. They tend to spread via blood stream more. They make up another group of solid state tumour.
LeukaemiaThese are cancers originating from the components of blood. They are non-solid tumours.
Those derived from the white blood cells called lymphocytes are referred to as lymphomas and those from plasma cells are called plasmacytoma or myeloma, depending on whether several or single sites are affected. They constitute 5% of cancer types.
Body Part Or Region Of Occurence
Cancer can occur in any part of the body. More common types of cancers are:
Adrenal Cancer
Anal Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Bowel Cancer
Brain Cancer
Breast Cancer
Cervical Cancer
chronic lymphocytic leukaemia Cancer
Chronic myelocytic leukaemia Cancer
Colon Cancer
Endometrial Cancer
Ewing’s sarcoma Cancer
Esophagus Cancer
Fallopian tube Cancer
Gallbladder Cancer
Gastric Cancer
Gestational Trophoblastic Disease Cancer
Hodgkin’s lymphoma Cancer
Karposi sarcoma Cancer
Kidney Cancer
Laryngeal Cancer
Liver Cancer
Lung Cancer
Lymphomas
Melanoma Cancer
Mesothelioma Cancer
Myeloma Cancer
Neuroblastoma Cancer
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma Cancer
Osteosarcoma Cancer
Ovarian Cancer
Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Parathyroid Cancer
Penile Cancer
Pituitary Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Retinoblastoma Cancer
Rhabdomyosarcoma Cancer
Small bowel Cancer
Testicular Cancer
Thymoma Cancer
Thyroid Cancer
Ureter Cancer
Urethral Cancer
Uterine Cancer
Vaginal Cancer
Vulva Cancer
This is by no means an exhaustive list of cancer types as they affect the various body parts. Let's see cancer types by
Childhood And Adult Cancers
Certain cancers can only be found in childhood, and include
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Neuroblastoma
Wilms Tumor
Burkitt Lymphoma
Retinoblastoma
Most types of cancer on the other hand are adult only cancers. This include cancer like rodent ulcer, or squamous cell carcinoma.