• squamous cells - that line different parts of the body, such as the mouth, gullet (oesophagus), and the airways
• adeno cells - form the lining of all the glands in the body and can be found in organs such as the stomach, ovaries, kidneys and prostate
• transitional cells - are only found in the lining of the bladder and parts of the urinary system
• basal cells - that are found in one of the layers of the skin.

A cancer that starts in squamous cells is called a squamous cell carcinoma.
A cancer that starts in glandular cells is called an adenocarcinoma.
Cancers that start in transitional cells are transitional cell carcinomas,
Those that start in basal cells are basal cell carcinomas.

Leukaemias and lymphomas
These occur in the tissues where white blood cells (which fight infection in the body) are formed, i.e. the bone marrow and lymphatic system. Leukaemia and lymphoma are quite rare and make up about 6.5% of all cancers.

Sarcomas
Sarcomas are very rare. They are a group of cancers that form in the connective or supportive tissues of the body such as muscle, bone and fatty tissue. They account for less than 1% of cancers.
Sarcomas are split into two main types:

• bone sarcomas - that are found in the bones
• soft tissue sarcomas - that develop in the other supportive tissues of the body.
• Others forms of cancer
• Brain tumours and other very rare forms of cancer make up the remainder of cancers.
  

For more complete information, visit the website www.cancerbackup.org.uk, which has information on all the cancer treatments mentioned above and also on cancer research trials.