D02: Carcinoma in situ of middle ear and respiratory system

D02.3: Carcinoma in situ: Other parts of respiratory system

The tissue in the body is made up of cells. Cancer causes the cells to change, resulting in them multiplying uncontrollably. This leads to a malignant neoplasm (abnormal growth of tissue) developing. This abnormal and excessive tissue growth is called cancer. In your case, the cancer is limited to the skin or mucous membranes. This means that the cancer is very superficial and has not currently extended beyond a certain limit in the tissue. This also means the cancer has not yet been able to spread to other organs. However, the cancer cells can destroy the healthy tissue.

You often don’t get any symptoms with this early form of cancer.

You have an early form of cancer in the inner lining (mucous membrane) of your respiratory tract. When we breathe, the air gets into the body via the respiratory tract. The respiratory tract can be divided into the upper and the lower respiratory tracts. The nose and throat form part of the upper respiratory tract. The lower respiratory tract begins at the larynx. This includes the trachea and the bronchia.