Lung cancer will account for approximately 13% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States in 2004. It is usually a disease of older patients. The average age of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients is 60. Lung cancers rarely occur among people below 40 years of age.
Lung cancer is particularly lethal, causing more deaths among both men and women than any other type of cancer—more than prostate, breast and colon cancers combined. The American Cancer Society estimates that 160,440 people will die in 2004 due to lung cancer; this translates into roughly 30% of all deaths from cancer in the United States.
The prognosis for patients diagnosed with lung cancer is usually poor, since the disease is usually detected when already in an advanced stage.
In a 10-year period beginning in 1998, for instance, the percentage of individuals who lived a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer (1-year survival rate) was only 42%. The 5-year survival rate, or the percentage of people who are still alive five years after diagnosis, for lung cancer at all stages combined is only 15%.
However, when the cancer is found early and treated with surgery or before it has affected the lymph nodes or other organs, the 5-year survival rate approaches 50%. It should be noted, though, that only 15% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed while the disease is at an early, localized stage.
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