Types of cancer
There are around 200 different types of cancer. Most are named after the organ or cell type that they start in. Cancer types can behave very differently from one another, and have very different outcomes. They also have different treatments. A treatment that works well for some types of cancer may not be effective for others.
Types of cancer that start in a specific organ are called “solid cancers”. Examples include lung cancer, breast cancer and bowel cancer. As the cancer grows it forms a solid mass or lump, called a “tumor”. The skin is also classed as one of our body’s organs. Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. But because most skin cancers are slow-growing and do not spread to the rest of the body, they are often not counted in cancer statistics. The most serious type of skin cancer, called “melanoma”, is the exception to this. Melanoma can grow quickly and can spread like other cancers.
The other main type of cancer is “non-solid cancers”. These start in the blood cells, or in the blood-forming tissues in the bone marrow. They result in large numbers of abnormal blood cells. Examples of non-solid cancers include leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
