The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 234,580 Americans diagnosed with lung cancer in 2024, and an estimated 125,070 of these people won’t make it to 2025. To learn more about lung cancer and its survival rates, keep reading.
Are you searching for a lung scan near you? Schedule your CT scan today.
What Is Lung Cancer?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cancer happens when specific cells grow exponentially and uncontrollably, creating cancerous tissue. Lung cancer is when this process takes place in the lungs. Lung cancer accounts for as many as one in five of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
What Increases Your Risk of Lung Cancer?
The risk of developing lung cancer in your lifetime is 1 in 16 for men and 1 in 17 for women, according to the American Cancer Society. These numbers include everyone (those who do and those who do not smoke). For those who smoke, the chances are much higher. For non-smokers, the chances are much lower.
According to the CDC, lung cancer risk factors include:
- Smoking — This includes cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and second-hand smoke. Those who smoke are 15-30 times more likely to get lung cancer.
- Radon — Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Tip: You can get your home tested for radon to minimize the risk.
- Asbestos exposure
- Exposure to arsenic
- Exposure to diesel exhaust, silica, or chromium
- Exposure to high levels of pollution
- A family history of lung cancer
- Radiation on the chest
- Taking beta-carotene supplements
What Is the Life Expectancy of a Person With Lung Cancer?
The life expectancy of a person with lung cancer depends on the stage of the cancer, the type of cancer (small cell vs. non-small cell), your overall health, and how early the cancer is identified and treated. The American Cancer Society relies on information from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database for lung cancer statistics.
This database groups cancers into three stages and gives each group a relative 5-year survival rating. The three stages include:
- Localized: This means that evidence shows cancer only in the lung tissue
- Regional: This means the cancer has spread, but only to a nearby structure such as the lymph nodes
- Distant: This means the cancer has spread to multiple parts of the body, even those further away from the lungs
What Is a Relative 5-Year Survival Rating?
This number compares others who had your specific type and stage of cancer to the general population. For example, if the relative 5-year survival rate is 50%, you’d have a 50% chance of not dying from cancer within the next five years compared to the general population.
What Is the 5-Year Survival Rating for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?
The overall 5-year survival rating of non-small cell lung cancer is 28%. Here are the 5-year survival rates for individual stages:
- Localized: 65%
- Regional: 37%
- Distant: 9%
What Is the 5-Year Survival Rating for Small-Cell Lung Cancer?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, small-cell lung cancer is a rare but aggressive form of lung cancer that spreads quickly. The overall 5-year survival rate for small-cell lung cancer is 7%. Here are the 5-year survival rates for individual stages:
- Localized: 30%
- Regional: 18%
- Distant: 3%
How Quickly Does Lung Cancer Spread?
How fast lung cancer spreads is dependent on the type. Small cell lung cancer is fast-growing and spreads faster than non-small cell lung cancer. A 2020 study found that the number of small-cell lung cancer cells can double in an average of only 86 days. For non-small cell lung cancer, a 2019 study suggests that the median doubling time is 230 days, but this can vary as some small-cell tumors in the study doubled in size in as little as 19 days while others only grew fractionally.
There Is Good News
According to the American Lung Association, reports suggest that survival rates for lung cancer are improving. This is likely due to more information being available and higher screening rates. Unfortunately, screening rates are still low, with only 4.5% of eligible patients receiving a preventative lung scan in 2022.
What Is a Preventative Scan?
As the name suggests, a preventative scan is a scan that is meant to catch diseases before any symptoms are present and when the disease is more treatable. The biggest lung scan benefit is that detecting lung cancer early is the best way to detect it, while it’s most treatable and least likely to kill you.
What Scans Show Lung Cancer?
According to the CDC, a low-dose CT scan of the lungs is the only recommended scan that shows lung cancer. It is recommended that high-risk patients be scanned on an annual basis. According to the American Lung Association, annual lung scans for high-risk patients can reduce the death rate by 20%.
Is Lung Cancer Curable?
Currently, there is no cure for cancer. However, in some cases, when cancer is caught and treated early, cancer can go into remission. According to the American Cancer Society, cancer going into remission means that your cancer is responding well to treatment to such an extent that it is considered “under control.” There are two types of remission:
- Partial remission: This means that the cancer has shrunk and is under control, but the cancer is still present in the body
- Complete remission: This means there are currently no signs of cancer cells in your body. This is as close to a “cure” as current treatments have available. However, since cancer recurrence happens, doctors are hesitant to use the word “cured.”
How likely you are to survive lung cancer depends on many factors. Getting a preventative scan near you can help you better assess your health.
Are you looking for a lung scan in Las Vegas? Book your CT scan today.
Sources:
Can Cancer Be Cured? (2021).
Key Statistics for Lung Cancer. (2024).
Lung Cancer Survival Rates. (2024).
Miura, K. (2019). Solid component tumor doubling time is a prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
New Report Shows Significant Lung Cancer Survival Rate Gains, Lingering Disparities and Urgent Need for Increased Screening. (2023).
Noronha, V. (2020). Systemic therapy for limited stage small cell lung carcinoma.
Small Cell Lung Cancer. (2022).
What Are the Risk Factors for Lung Cancer? (2023).
What Is Cancer Recurrence? (2023).
What Is Lung Cancer? (2023).
Who Should Be Screened for Lung Cancer? (2023).
