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Health Encyclopedia » Health Centers » Cancer » Specific Cancers
Cancer
Adrenal Cancer
The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys and produce certain hormones. Adrenal cancer, also called adrenocortical cancer, is rare.
Anal Cancer
Different types of tumors can form in the anus. Some, like polyps, are not benign; others can be patches of irregular cells that can become cancerous.
Bile Duct Cancer
The majority of bile duct cancers develop in the part of the ducts that are outside the liver and are sometimes referred to as extrahepatic tumors.
Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer affects men four times more often than women, and the risk for this cancer also increases with age.
Bone Cancer
Bone cancer, or primary bone cancer, is cancer that begins in your bones. Primary bone cancer is different from secondary bone cancer, which starts in other parts of the body and later spreads to the bones.
Brain and Central Nevous Cancer
Brain tumors can be either benign or cancerous. Cancerous brain tumors usually grow quickly and invade surrounding tissue.
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer includes a wide range of cancers of the breast. Except for skin cancer, it is the most common cancer in women.
Carcinoma of Unknown Primary
This type of cancer is found after it has spread from its original location. With testing, doctors may be able to tell where the cancer originated, which helps with treatment.
Cervical Cancer
Abnormal cells can appear on the surface of the cervix and are considered precancerous. If these cells spread deeper into the cervix, or to other tissues or organs, the disease is called cervical cancer.
Colorectal Cancer
Because colon cancer and rectal cancers have many features in common, they are sometimes referred to together as colorectal cancer.
Endometrial Cancer
Endometrial carcinoma is a cancer that begins in the lining of the uterus. It most often occurs in women who have gone through menopause.
Esophageal Cancer
Esophageal cancer is cancer that develops in the esophagus, the muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach. The wall of the esophagus is made up of several layers of cells, and cancers generally start from the inner layer and grow out.
Ewing's Sarcoma
Ewing sarcoma is primary a childhood cancer that most frequently occurs between ages 10 to 20 years old. This type of cancer can start either in a bone or soft tissue. Most cases result from a specific rearrangement of chromosomes.
Eye Cancer
Eye cancer is a very rare kind of cancer that starts somewhere in or on the eye or in the skin of cells around the eye.
Gallbladder Cancer
The gallbladder is a small organ that lies under your liver. Most gallbladder cancer cases occur in people older than 70. This type of cancer strikes women about twice as often as men.
Head and Neck Cancer
This type of cancer can begin in any of these places: larynx, nasal cavity, mouth, paranasal sinuses, throat, or salivary glands.
Hodgkin's Disease
Hodgkin disease is a type of lymphoma, a cancer in the lymphatic system. The disease causes the cells in the lymphatic system to abnormally reproduce, eventually making the body less able to fight infection.
Kaposi's Sarcoma
A sarcoma is a cancer that grows in body tissues. In Kaposi’s sarcoma, the cancer cells grow below the skin, although they can also grow in the mucous membranes in the nose, mouth, lung, and anus.
Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancer begins in the kidneys. Renal is the Latin word for kidney, and kidney cancer may also be referred to as renal cancer.
Laryngeal Cancer
The larynx is often referred to as the voice box. The cartilage in front of the larynx is sometimes called the "Adam's apple." Laryngeal cancer is cancer that occurs in either of these parts, or in the vocal cords.
Leukemia - General
Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells—usually the white blood cells. Doctors divide leukemia into four main types, and those four into several subtypes.
Leukemia - Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) occurs when too many lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, are produced in the body. Acute means the leukemia can occur quickly and tends to progress rapidly.
Leukemia - Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts. They do not mature into healthy white blood cells. AML may also make abnormal red blood cells and platelets.
Leukemia - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of leukemia in which the body produces too many white blood cells called lymphocytes.
Leukemia - Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is found mostly in adults and is a slow-growing type of leukemia. This means that you may not be diagnosed right away because, at first, there are no symptoms.
Liver Cancer
Liver cancer is a rare cancer that starts in the cells of the liver. Doctors have divided this cancer into four main types.
Lung Cancer
Nearly all lung cancers are carcinomas, a cancer that begins in the lining or covering tissues of an organ. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer.
Malignant Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that starts in the cells that form the mesothelium. This is the lining that protects the internal organs such as the lungs, stomach, and heart.
Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a rare cancer that begins in a type of white blood cell called the plasma cell. Plasma cells are found in the bone marrow.
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, part of the body's immune system. Cancerous cells in the lymphatic system cause the lymph glands to swell.
Oral Cancer
Oral cancer is cancer found in the mouth or in the throat area at the back of the mouth. The main causes of this type of cancer are tobacco and alcohol use.
Ovarian Cancer
Many types of tumors can start growing in the ovaries. Some are benign, but others are cancerous tumors.
Pancreatic Cancer
The pancreas is located behind the stomach. Pancreatic cancer starts in this organ, often spreading into the nearby bile ducts and lymph nodes in your abdomen.
Penile Cancer
Penile cancer is a rare kind of cancer that begins in the cells of the penile tissue. It is rarely found in men in the United States.
Pituitary Cancer
A pituitary tumor is a tumor that grows in the pituitary gland - a small gland located behind the nasal sinuses and above the roof the mouth at the base of the skull. The pituitary gland regulates most of the other glands in the body.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer starts in the prostate gland. More than 90 percent of all prostate cancers are discovered while they are either in or still near the prostate.
Skin Cancer - Melanoma
Melanoma is a disease of the skin in which cancer cells are found in the melanocytes, the cells that produce color in the skin.
Skin Cancer - Non-Melanoma
Skin cancer is a malignant tumor that grows in the skin cells. Most skin cancers appear in older people, but skin damage from the sun begins at an early age.
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Soft tissue makes up muscles, tendons, blood vessels, fat, nerves, and deep skin tissues, but not bones or other organs. A sarcoma is a cancer. In general, soft tissue sarcomas are rare.
Stomach Cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is cancer that starts in any part of the stomach. Infection with Helicobacter pylori is considered a possible risk factor for this cancer.
Testicular Cancer
Cancer that develops in a testicle is called testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is very treatable and is one of the most curable forms of cancer if found early.
Thymus Cancer
Thymus cancer is rare and occurs in the thymus, a small organ in the front part of the chest under the breastbone. The thymus produces an immune system cell called a T-lymphocyte.
Thyroid Cancer
The thyroid gland is located in the neck - under the Adam's apple and above the collarbone. Cancer of the thyroid occurs more often in younger adults.
Urethral Cancer
Urethral cancer is a rare form of cancer that develops in the tube that carries urine from the bladder to an opening on the outside of the body.
Uterine Cancer
Cancer of the uterus can spread through the bloodstream or lymphatic system and is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract.
Vaginal Cancer
Cancer of the vagina, a rare kind of cancer in women, is a disease in which malignant cells are found in the tissues of the vagina.
Vulvar Cancer
The vulva is the external portion of the female genital organs. Vulvar cancer is a rare malignancy that can occur on any part of the vulva, but most often in the labia majora or labia minora.
Other Cancers
Learn more from the National Cancer Institute on rare cancers such as AIDS-related lymphoma, germ cell tumors, and tumors of the oropharynx.