Statistics on Lung Cancer

General

  • Lung Cancer accounts for 29% of all cancer deaths in the United States.
  • Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United States. Lung cancer causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate). The expected 5-year survival rate for all patients in whom lung cancer is diagnosed is less than 15 percent compared to 65 percent for colon, 89 percent for breast and 99 percent for prostate cancer.(1)  The 5-year survival rate is 49 percent for cases detected when the disease is still localized.  However, only 16 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage.  For distant tumors the 5-year survival rate is just over 2 percent.(1)
  • About 6 out of 10 people with lung cancer die within 1 year of being diagnosed with the disease. Between 7 and 8 will die within 2 years.(1)
  • Lung cancer kills more people than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined every year and 3 times more than prostate 2 times more than breast.
  • Lung cancer causes 30% of all cancer deaths according to the American Cancer Society. Smoking is responsible for 87% of lung cancer deaths.  According to the National Cancer Institute, estimated new cases and deaths related to lung cancer for 2008 is: New cases 215,020, and Deaths: 161,840

    - For 2009: Projected new cases: 215,000, Projected deaths: 159,000
    - For 2008: Projected new cases: 215,020, Projected deaths: 161,840
    - For 2007: Projected new cases: 213,380, Projected deaths: 160,390
    - For 2006: Projected new cases: 174,470, Projected deaths: 162,460
     
  • The risk of developing lung cancer is about 23 times higher in male smokers and 13 times higher in female smokers than it is for lifelong non-smokers.(4) Approximately 30,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year in NON-SMOKERS (3)

Rates of developing lung cancer by gender and by race/ethnicity

The rates of getting lung cancer are higher among men than women. They also differ for different racial and ethnic groups as shown on the table below.

Black men get lung cancer at higher rates than other men. Asian/Pacific Islander men and Hispanic men have the lowest rates. Among women, White women have the highest rate of getting lung cancer. Asian/Pacific Islander women and Hispanic women have the lowest rates. (3)

Lung Cancer Incidence Rates* by Gender and Race and Ethnicity

United States ,** 2001***

 

All Races

White

Black

Asian/Pacific Islander

Hispanic

Male

88

87

109

50

52

Female

53

55

48

25

25

* Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
** Rates cover approximately 92 percent of the U.S. population.
*** The ethnic category Hispanic may include different races categories (White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander).

 

Trends by gender

  • For men, rates of developing lung cancer have been decreasing since the 1980s and death rates from lung cancer have been decreasing since the 1990s. The decreases in lung cancer cases and death rates among men stem from reductions in smoking that began several decades ago. Death rates for U.S. men are lower than rates among men in several other countries. Death rates among men are still higher than among women in the United States.
  • For women, rates of developing or dying from lung cancer have varied from one year to the next. Among women, reductions in smoking are more recent, beginning in the late 1970s. It is currently unclear if rates for women are increasing, decreasing, or leveling off. However, lung cancer death rates for U.S. women are among the highest in the world.

Risk of dying from lung cancer by age

The table below shows the percentage of men or women (how many out of 100) who die from lung cancer over different time periods. The time periods are based on the person’s current age. For example, 2.4 percent of men who are 60 years old will die from lung cancer during the next 10 years (that is, by the age of 70). In other words, if you imagine 100 men who are 60 years old, 2 to 3 of them will die from lung cancer within 10 years. The risk of death from lung cancer increases with age and is greater in men than in women.

Percentage of Men and Women Who Die From Lung Cancer

Over 10, 20, and 30 Year Intervals According to Their Current Age

 

Men

Women

Current
Age

10 year
interval

20 year
interval

30 year
interval

10 year
interval

20 year
interval

30 year
interval

30

0.0

0.2

1.0

0.0

0.1

0.7

40

0.2

1.0

3.1

0.1

0.6

1.9

50

0.8

3.0

5.9

0.5

1.9

3.6

60

2.4

5.5

7.3

1.4

3.3

4.4

 

Risk of dying from lung cancer among racial and ethnic groups

Although lung cancer death rates have been dropping more quickly in Black men than in other groups since 1991, Black men still have higher death rates from lung cancer than other men. Asian American and Hispanic men have the lowest death rates. Black and White women have the highest lung cancer death rates among women.(3)

 

 

Sources:
1. American Lung Association
3. National Cancer Institute
4. American Cancer Society