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Start free with EleplanSmall cell lung cancer
ORPHA:70573Disease
Also called SCLC
What it is
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignant neoplasm, accounting for 10-15% of lung cancer cases, characterized by rapid growth, and early metastasis. SCLC usually manifests as a large hilar mass with bulky mediastinal lymphadenopathy presenting clinically with chest pain, persistent cough, dyspnea, wheezing, hoarseness, hemoptysis, loss of appetite, weight loss, and neurological and endocrine paraneoplastic syndromes. SCLC is primarily reported in elderly people with a history of long-term tobacco exposure.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- 1-5 / 10 000 (Europe)
- Age of onset
- Adult
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Genes
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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