Dr Loiselle

For non-small cell lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases, the standard approach of whole brain radiotherapy is not necessarily standard for each and every patient. Each patient's specific situation may sometimes be best approached with various combinations of surgery, radiation, medical/systemic therapy, and non-cancer directed treatment.

When I met my first lung cancer patient in medical school, I found it difficult to grasp the wording of the diagnosis non-small cell lung cancer (and its associated acronym, NSCLC). Why was the diagnosis named so specifically for what it is not, rather than what it is?