Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung (LCNEC of the lung), or pulmonary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (PLCNC), is a highly

malignant Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous benign tumor, ''benign'' tumor in that a malig ...

neoplasm A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

arising from transformed

epithelial cells Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of man ...

originating in tissues within the pulmonary tree. It is currently considered to be a subtype of

large-cell lung carcinoma Large-Cell Lung Carcinoma (LCLC), or Large-Cell Carcinoma (LCC) in short, is a heterogeneous group of undifferentiated malignant neoplasms that lack the cytology and architectural features of small cell carcinoma and glandular or squamous different ...

. LCNEC is often generically grouped among the non-small-cell lung carcinomas. LCNECs often have inactivations of

p53 p53, also known as tumor protein p53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory transcription factor protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thou ...

and RB (~40%), or inactivation of

TP53 p53, also known as tumor protein p53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory transcription factor protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thou ...

and

STK11 Serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) also known as liver kinase B1 (LKB1) or renal carcinoma antigen NY-REN-19 is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the ''STK11'' gene. Expression Testosterone and DHT treatment of murine 3T3-L1 or hum ...

KEAP1 Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''Keap1'' gene. Structure Keap1 has four discrete protein domains. The N-terminal Broad complex, Tramtrack and Bric-à-Brac (BTB) domain contains the Cys151 re ...

(~40%).

Variants

The

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

classification of lung tumors recognizes a variant of LCNEC, namely "combined large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma" (c-LCNEC).

References

External links

Lung Cancer Home Page
The

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

site containing further reading and resources about lung cancer.

World Health Organization Histological Classification of Lung and Pleural Tumours. 4th Edition. Lung cancer {{Oncology-stub}