Cancer can develop almost anywhere in the body, and there are many different forms of cancer. The main forms of cancer include:  

• Carcinomas. Develop from the cells that cover external and internal body surfaces. These are the most common type of cancer. The most common carcinomas to occur in the United States include lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer.

• Sarcomas. Develop from cells found in the supporting tissues of the body such as the bone, cartilage, fat, connective tissue and muscle.
  
  
• Lymphomas. Develop in the lymph nodes and the tissues of the immune system.
  
  
• Leukemias. Develop in the immature blood cells that grow in the bone marrow and accumulate in the bloodstream.
  
  
• Myeloma. Develops in the plasma cells of the bone marrow, which normally make gamma globulin, an important immune system defense. 

In order to distinguish among different types of carcinomas, sarcomas, myelomas, lymphomas and leukemias, scientists use a variety of technical names. Usually the names are created by using Latin prefixes that stand for the location where the cancer began. Cancer prefixes include:

Using this system, cancer arising from the bone is known as osteosarcoma and cancer of glandular cells is known as adenocarcinoma, such as adenocarcinoma of the breast or prostate.