Pathology of lung cancer

Abstract

8.5 Concluding Remarks: In contrast to most other organs, the lungs are prone to a very wide range of epithelial tumors, varying in their location and histology. These tumors show varying degrees of relationship to smoke exposure, with the central carcinomas showing the greatest relationship. The molecular lesions from in these tumors share certain common elements and exhibit characteristic changes. Their precursor lesions also differ, with some being well defined and others being poorly understood because of the difficulty of identifying them prior to surgical resection of an existing tumor. Thus, their natural history is also poorly understood. The advent of newer diagnostic procedures such as fluorescence bronchoscopy and high-resolution CT scanning will aid in their diagnosis and permit us to study their natural history. © 2006 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.