Anyone can get lung cancer

  • One in 16 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.1
  • More than 238,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, with a new diagnosis every 2.2 minutes.1
  • It is estimated that close to 65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers.2
  • About 12% of new lung cancer cases are among never-smokers.2

We need to get better at finding and treating lung cancer

  • Lung cancer accounts for 12% of all new cancer diagnoses but 21% of all cancer deaths.1
  • Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, regardless of gender, taking about 127,000 American lives each year.1
  • More lives are lost to lung cancer than to colorectal and pancreatic cancers combined.1
  • Lung cancer has been the leading cancer killer of women since 1987, killing almost 1.4 times as many women as breast cancer.1,3
  • Only 25% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically.4

Lung cancer research needs investment that matches the impact of the disease

  • Only 6% of federal government dollars spent on cancer research are spent on lung cancer research.5

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Lung cancer facts infographic

References

  1. Cancer Facts & Figures 2023. American Cancer Society. Released January 2023. Accessed January 13, 2023.
  2. Siegal DA, et al. Proportion of never smokers among men and women with lung cancer in 7 US states. JAMA Oncol. 2021 Feb 1; 7(2): 302-304. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.6362.
  3.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. CDC WONDER On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File 1999-2014 Series 20 No. 2T, 2016.
  4. Cancer Statistics: NIH National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results. Updated April 19, 2023.
  5.  Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC). National Institutes of Health. Table published May 16, 2022. Accessed January 13, 2023.

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