Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live. Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case. Your doctor can give you more information about your own outlook (prognosis). You can also talk about this with the Cancer Research UK nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. No UK-wide statistics are available for different stages of lung cancer or individual treatments. These figures are for survival by stage in England for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017. More than 55 out of 100 people (more than 55%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis. Around 35 out of 100 people (around 35%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis. Almost 15 out of 100 people (almost 15%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis. Almost 5 out of 100 people (almost 5%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed. Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019 These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2013 and 2017. These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer. Survival for all stages of lung cancerGenerally for people with lung cancer in England:
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019 These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer. What affects survivalYour outcome depends on the type of lung cancer that you have and also the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread. Your general health and fitness might also affect survival. Doctors call this your performance status. A score of 0 means you are completely able to look after yourself. A score of 1 means you can do most things for yourself but need some help. The scores continue to go up, depending on how much help you need. People with a higher score may have a poorer outlook. About these statisticsThe terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and researchers collect information. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this. 5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis. For more in-depth information about survival and lung cancerYou are welcome to reuse this Cancer Research UK content for your own work. Web content: Cancer Research UK, full URL of the page, Accessed [month] [year]. When Cancer Research UK material is used for commercial reasons, we encourage a donation to our life-saving research. Donate online Lung cancer is the 2nd most common cancer worldwide. Latest lung cancer dataLung cancer is the 2nd most common cancer worldwide. It is the most common cancer in men and the 2nd most common cancer in women. There were more than 2.2 million new cases of lung cancer in 2020. The 10 countries with the highest rates of lung cancer and the highest number of deaths from lung cancer in 2020 are shown in the tables below. ASR = age-standardised rates. These are a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of dying from cancer. Lung cancer ratesThe following 3 tables show total global cancer incidence and rates in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Hungary had the highest overall rate of lung cancer in 2020, followed by Serbia.
Lung cancer deathsThe following 3 tables show total global lung cancer mortality in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Hungary had the highest overall mortality rate from lung cancer in 2020, followed by Serbia.
What causes lung cancer?Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. There is evidence that the following are also associated with an increased risk of lung cancer: previous lung disease, occupational exposure and indoor air pollution. There is also strong evidence that:
There is some evidence that:
> Read more about what can cause and what can protect against lung cancer NotesThe data on this page comes from the Global Cancer Observatory, owned by the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer, and is used with permission. The cancer incidence figures and ASRs were compiled using the data available here (last accessed 23 March 2022). For queries about our cancer statistics please email the Research Interpretation team: .
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