Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK. About 47,000 people are diagnosed with it each year. The lungs are the parts of the body that we use to breathe.

There are two main types of primary lung cancer. These are:

• non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
• small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Sometimes cancer spreads to the lungs from somewhere else in the body. This is called secondary lung cancer. We also have information about cancer that affects the lining that covers the lungs (the pleura). This is called mesothelioma.

There are some rarer types of cancers that can start in the lung. They include neuroendocrine tumours. These are sometimes called carcinoid tumours.