lung cancer survival rate

lung cancer survival rate

Lung cancer survival rates are a measure of how many people remain alive with lung cancer after a certain amount of time. For example, a 5-year survival rate of 40% for a condition, would mean that 40% of people, or 40 out of 100 people, would be alive after 5 years. When talking about lung cancer, physicians often use the term median survival as well. Median survival is the amount of time at which 50% of people with a condition will have died, and 50% are still alive.

Lung cancer survival rates are statistics and don't necessarily give an accurate estimate of how long an individual will survive with a certain disease. There are many factors that affect lung cancer survival rates, including general health, sex, race, treatments used, and in the case of people who smoke, if they are able to quit.

Lung cancer survival rates are difficult to talk about. Everyone is different, and I don’t like reducing real people to statistics. That said, many people who are diagnosed with lung cancer – and their families – want some idea of what they can expect in the future.
So I will share what we know about lung cancer survival rates by type of lung cancer and stage of lung cancer. But first, it is important to have an understanding of what survival rates mean, and the variables that make survival rate different for each individual.

Definition of Survival Rate

Survival rate is a measure of the percent of people that are alive after a certain period of time. For example, a 5-year survival rate of 15%, would mean that 15%, or 15 out of 100 people diagnosed with a certain condition would be alive after 5 years.
Survival rates do not say anything about whether someone is cured or if their disease has progressed. They also do not take into account whether someone has completed treatment or is still undergoing therapy for their condition.
It is also important to note the timing of statistics describing survival rates. Many of these numbers are compiled from data that is several years old. With lung cancer, many of the survival rates quoted are from data recorded in 2005. Because of this, survival rates will not reflect any newer treatments that may have improved the survival rate for a disease.


Sometimes, especially when the prognosis for a condition is poor, physicians will talk about median survival instead of survival rates. The median survival with a condition is the amount of time after which 50% of people have died and 50% are still alive. For example, if the median survival for a condition is 14 months, after 14 months 50% of the people would still be alive, and 50% of the people would have died.

Some Factors That Affect Lung Cancer Survival Rate

    General Health – Overall health can affect survival rate with lung cancer. Someone who is healthy and with excellent lung function, will most likely do better than someone with other serious medical conditions or poor lung function.
    Sex – The survival rate for women with lung cancer is higher than that for men at all stages of the disease.
    Race – The overall survival rate is lower for black men and women than for white men and women.
    Continued Smoking after Diagnosis – In one recent study, individuals with early stage lung cancer that were able to quit smoking had a survival rate twice as high as those who were unable to quit. Smoking also increases the risk of other medical conditions that can lower overall survival rate.
    Treatments Used – Survival rates are compiled from a large number of individuals with lung cancer, regardless of the treatment they underwent. Someone who is able to tolerate treatment would likely fair better than someone who is otherwise too ill to go through any treatment.