Why is it called “non-small” with like cancers and stuff? Why not like “large?” “Non-small” doesn’t seem very descriptive. You don’t go to McDonald’s and order “non-small” fries. They’d be like “Ok then, what fucking size do you want?”

Question

Why is it called “non-small” with like cancers and stuff? Why not like “large?” “Non-small” doesn’t seem very descriptive. You don’t go to McDonald’s and order “non-small” fries. They’d be like “Ok then, what fucking size do you want?”

In: Biology

Answer 1

There are 4 types of lung cancer, for example: oat cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.

The treatment of oat cell is different, it’s what’s called a small cell cancer.

The treatment for the others is very similar, so they are called non-small cell cancers. Since large cell is a specific type, that would be a bad name to use for the group.