# Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung

Source: https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/  
OnCo record `lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma` (Cancer). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Adenosquamous carcinoma is an uncommon lung cancer that contains both gland-forming and squamous cancer cells, each making up at least a tenth of the tumour. It behaves worse than either pure type, but its gland-forming part often carries an EGFR mutation, so it is tested and treated like adenocarcinoma.

## Summary

The WHO classification defines adenosquamous carcinoma as a carcinoma with at least 10 percent each of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, a diagnosis that can be made reliably only on a resection specimen; small biopsies usually capture one component (Li 2018). In the Japanese multi-institutional cohort adenosquamous cases had worse survival curves than adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma for all stages and for stage IA, IB and IIIA (Maeda 2012).

How it differs from its parent: it is the histology in which the treatment rules of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma collide. The review evidence favours treating it as adenocarcinoma: EGFR mutations are frequent enough that EGFR inhibitors such as erlotinib and gefitinib are effective in EGFR-mutant advanced disease, platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy for at least four cycles improved survival in stage III, data on ALK inhibitors are very limited, and checkpoint inhibitors are a potential option (Li 2018).

How common: 2.4 percent of resected lung cancers in the Japanese series (Maeda 2012); no population figure was found in the sources read.

Treatment: as the parent by stage, with driver testing as for adenocarcinoma and EGFR inhibitors when a mutation is found; pemetrexed-based regimens are generally used because of the glandular component (Li 2018).

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung; Adenosquamous cell lung cancer; Mixed adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
- Tags: subtype-page; wave4; lung
- Group: lung
- Burden: 2.4 percent of resected primary lung cancers (114 of 4,668 operations, Japan National Hospital Organization, 1997 to 2003), against 64.2 percent adenocarcinoma and 29.3 percent squamous cell carcinoma in the same series (Maeda 2012).
- Subtypes: Adenosquamous carcinoma with EGFR mutation (treated on the EGFR page); Adenosquamous carcinoma, driver-negative; Adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma with a minor (under 10 percent) second component (not adenosquamous)
- Biomarkers: At least 10 percent each of glandular and squamous components on resection; EGFR and other adenocarcinoma drivers; PD-L1

## Sections of this record

The page is a hub with ten sections in reading order; large sections have their own page. The same plan as JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/sections.json

- Overview (on the hub): The TL;DR, the family this cancer belongs to, the organ, who gets it and what the state of the art is. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#overview
- What it is (on the hub): Anatomy, the subtypes and how they differ, how it is staged, and where advanced disease spreads. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#what-it-is [3 subtypes]
- Finding it (on the hub): How it shows itself, how it is confirmed, what screening exists, and the biomarkers clinicians test for. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#finding-it [3 biomarkers]
- Treating it (on the hub): The standard of care by setting, the medicines, surgery and radiotherapy named in it, and the regimens behind them. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#treating-it [1 setting, 1 decision with options]
- Evidence (on the hub): Trials recruiting now, the landmark trials, the key papers and what they mean, the latest literature, and the milestones year by year. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#evidence
- The science (on the hub): The molecular landscape: the targets and how often each appears, the pathways, the mechanics stages and the preclinical models. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#science [1 target]
- Where you are (own page): Cases by country, the UK and NHS pathway and other country lenses, and the expert centres with trials on record. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/where-you-are/
- Living with it (on the hub): The decisions you may face, the aids that walk through them, the warnings on record, the first sixty days and the questions to ask. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/#living-with-it [8 questions, 6 red cards]
- What is coming (own page): Everything in development, the open problems and what is being done about them, the roadmaps, and what changed on this record. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/coming/ [3 medicines]
- Data (own page): Every connected record, the notes, the JSON, Markdown and RDF twins, and where the record came from and when it was checked. https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma/data/ [10 connected records]

## Standard of care

- All stages: Treated as lung adenocarcinoma: driver testing, EGFR inhibitors when mutated, platinum-based chemotherapy with immunotherapy otherwise. ([Adenocarcinoma of the lung](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenocarcinoma/), [EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/egfr-mutant-nsclc/), [Erlotinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/erlotinib/), [Gefitinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/gefitinib/), [Pemetrexed](https://onco.cc/drugs/pemetrexed/))

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosquamous_carcinoma
- Nicholson 2022, JTO: the 2021 WHO classification of lung tumours: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2021.11.003
- Li 2018, OncoTargets and Therapy: adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung (review): https://doi.org/10.2147/ott.s164574
- Maeda 2012, Eur J Cardiothorac Surg: adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, surgical results in 4,668 resections: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejcts.2011.05.050

## Connected records

- cancers: [Adenocarcinoma of the lung](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-adenocarcinoma/), [Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic-adenosquamous-carcinoma/), [EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/egfr-mutant-nsclc/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-squamous-cell-carcinoma/)
- targets: [EGFR](https://onco.cc/targets/egfr/)
- drugs: [Erlotinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/erlotinib/), [Gefitinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/gefitinib/), [Pemetrexed](https://onco.cc/drugs/pemetrexed/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/lung-adenosquamous-carcinoma.json