While the sobering reality is that lung cancer's overall five-year survival rate hovers around just 26%, a closer look at the statistics reveals a powerful and hopeful story of progress, pinpointing where modern medicine is winning the fight.
Key Takeaways
- The 5-year relative survival rate for all stages of lung and bronchus cancer combined in the US from 2014-2020 is 26.7%
- Overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients diagnosed between 2013-2019 is 22.9% according to SEER data
- The median survival time for metastatic lung cancer patients is approximately 12 months
- The 5-year relative survival rate for localized lung cancer (all stages confined to primary site) is 63%
- For regional stage lung cancer (spread to regional lymph nodes), 5-year survival is 35%
- Distant metastatic lung cancer has a 5-year survival of 8.1%
- For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the 5-year survival rate is 28%
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) 5-year survival rate is 7%
- NSCLC adenocarcinoma 5-year survival is 27%
- Surgery for stage I NSCLC improves 5-year survival to 80-90%
- Chemotherapy alone for advanced NSCLC median survival 10 months
- Targeted therapy for EGFR-mutant NSCLC median OS 38 months
- 5-year survival for lung cancer in females is 28.2% vs 25.1% in males (SEER)
- Black Americans have 5-year lung cancer survival of 21.5% vs 27.6% whites
- Patients under 65 years have 33% 5-year survival vs 22% over 65
Lung cancer survival rates remain low but are slowly improving overall.
Demographic and Risk Factor Survival
- 5-year survival for lung cancer in females is 28.2% vs 25.1% in males (SEER)
- Black Americans have 5-year lung cancer survival of 21.5% vs 27.6% whites
- Patients under 65 years have 33% 5-year survival vs 22% over 65
- Never-smokers lung cancer 5-year survival 30% higher than smokers
- Asian/Pacific Islander lung cancer 5-year survival 30.3%
- Hispanic lung cancer patients 5-year survival 24.7%
- Rural residents have 20% lower lung cancer survival than urban
- Women with NSCLC have 5-year survival 32% vs 25% men
- Elderly (>80) lung cancer 1-year survival 25%
- Comorbid COPD reduces 5-year survival by 10-15%
- Performance status 0-1 patients 5-year survival 35% vs 10% PS 2+
- Low SES linked to 5-year survival 18% vs 25% high SES
- Obese patients (BMI>30) 5-year survival 22% vs 26% normal
- Former smokers survival better by 5% than current
- Married patients 5-year survival 28% vs 22% unmarried
- Diabetes comorbidity lowers median survival by 3 months
- Heavy smokers (>40 pack-years) 5-year survival 18%
- Young adults (<50) 5-year survival 35%
- American Indian/Alaska Native 5-year survival 20.5%
- Insured patients survival 27% vs 19% uninsured
- EGFR mutations more common in women, improving survival to 45%
- Smoking cessation pre-diagnosis increases 5-year survival by 15%
- Cardiovascular disease comorbidity reduces OS by 20%
- Urban vs rural survival gap 5-10% higher in cities
- 5-year survival for localized NSCLC in women is 70%
Demographic and Risk Factor Survival Interpretation
These survival statistics reveal that lung cancer is less a monolithic death sentence and more a biased accountant, coldly calculating your odds based on who you are, where you live, what you earn, and whether you quit smoking in time.
Histology-Specific Survival
- For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the 5-year survival rate is 28%
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) 5-year survival rate is 7%
- NSCLC adenocarcinoma 5-year survival is 27%
- NSCLC squamous cell carcinoma 5-year survival is 24%
- Large cell carcinoma 5-year survival is 17%
- Limited-stage SCLC 5-year survival 27%
- Extensive-stage SCLC 5-year survival 3%
- Adenocarcinoma in never-smokers 5-year survival 40%
- Squamous cell in smokers 5-year survival 20%
- NSCLC with EGFR mutation 5-year survival 50% with targeted therapy
- SCLC with prophylactic cranial irradiation improves 3-year survival to 20%
- NSCLC large cell neuroendocrine 5-year survival 15-25%
- Adenocarcinoma NOS 5-year survival 25%
- In Asian populations, adenocarcinoma survival 35% at 5 years
- SCLC oat cell subtype median survival 9 months
- NSCLC bronchioalveolar carcinoma 5-year survival up to 80% early stage
- Mixed histology NSCLC 5-year survival 22%
- SCLC combined small cell 5-year survival 10%
- EGFR-positive adenocarcinoma median PFS 18 months
- ALK-rearranged NSCLC 5-year survival 60% with inhibitors
- ROS1 fusion NSCLC OS 5 years 40-50%
- Squamous NSCLC PD-L1 high 2-year survival 50% with IO
Histology-Specific Survival Interpretation
In this grim statistical arena, the cold numbers tell a clear and brutal story: while your specific battlefield—be it a mutation, a stage, a histology, or a treatment—absolutely matters, lung cancer, on the whole, remains a formidable and often ruthless opponent.
Overall Survival Rates
- The 5-year relative survival rate for all stages of lung and bronchus cancer combined in the US from 2014-2020 is 26.7%
- Overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients diagnosed between 2013-2019 is 22.9% according to SEER data
- The median survival time for metastatic lung cancer patients is approximately 12 months
- 1-year survival rate for lung cancer in England (2016-2020) is 38%
- Global 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is around 19% based on CONCORD-3 study
- In Japan, the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer improved to 33% from 2006-2008 data
- US lung cancer 5-year survival rate increased from 12% in 1975 to 26% in 2020
- For never-smokers with lung cancer, 5-year survival is 30.8% vs 21.3% for smokers
- Age-standardized 5-year net survival for lung cancer in Europe averages 15-20%
- In Canada, 5-year survival for lung cancer is 19% (2014-2018)
- Australian lung cancer 5-year survival rate is 21% (2014-2018)
- UK lung cancer 1-year survival rose to 42% by 2016-2020
- Median overall survival for advanced lung cancer is 11.6 months in real-world data
- 3-year survival rate for lung cancer in the US is 35%
- In China, 5-year survival for lung cancer is 16.8% (urban areas)
- SEER data shows 10-year survival for lung cancer at 6.3%
- Survival at 5 years for lung cancer patients over 65 is 20.1%
- Global trends show lung cancer survival improving by 1-2% per decade
- In France, 5-year survival for lung cancer is 17%
- US non-Hispanic white lung cancer 5-year survival is 27.1%
- Overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer diagnosed 2014-2020 is 26.7% per SEER
- 1-year survival for all lung cancer stages in US is 56%
- Median survival for untreated lung cancer is 4-6 months
- 5-year survival in high-income countries averages 20%
- Korean lung cancer 5-year survival 34.1% (2010-2014)
- Survival improvement 3% per year in targeted therapy era
- 10-year lung cancer survivor rate 6.9%
- In Germany, 5-year survival 21%
- Italian lung cancer 5-year net survival 17%
Overall Survival Rates Interpretation
While these numbers are still sobering, they whisper the cautious, hard-won progress of modern medicine: a patient diagnosed with lung cancer today is more than twice as likely to be alive in five years than they would have been fifty years ago, yet the overall odds remain a grim roll of the dice.
Stage-Based Survival
- The 5-year relative survival rate for localized lung cancer (all stages confined to primary site) is 63%
- For regional stage lung cancer (spread to regional lymph nodes), 5-year survival is 35%
- Distant metastatic lung cancer has a 5-year survival of 8.1%
- Stage I NSCLC 5-year survival rate is 68-92% depending on substage
- Stage II NSCLC 5-year survival is 53-60%
- Stage IIIA NSCLC 5-year survival is 36%
- Stage IIIB NSCLC 5-year survival drops to 26%
- Stage IV NSCLC 5-year survival is 9%
- For limited-stage SCLC, 5-year survival is 29%
- Extensive-stage SCLC 5-year survival is 3%
- Stage IA lung cancer 5-year survival exceeds 90%
- Stage IB NSCLC 5-year OS is 68%
- Stage IIA 5-year survival for NSCLC is 60%
- Stage IIB NSCLC 5-year survival is 53%
- Stage IIIA 5-year survival in NSCLC is 24-36%
- Stage IIIB 5-year survival 13-25% in NSCLC
- Stage IV NSCLC median survival 11 months by stage
- Localized lung cancer 5-year survival 61% (2014-2020 SEER)
- Regional lung cancer 5-year survival 34% (SEER 2014-2020)
- In stage I SCLC, 5-year survival is up to 50% with treatment
- Stage IV lung cancer 1-year survival is 32%
- Early-stage (I-II) NSCLC surgery alone 5-year survival 70-90%
- Advanced stage (III-IV) lung cancer 2-year survival 25%
- 5-year survival for NSCLC is 28% overall, with stage I at 92%
- SCLC limited stage median survival 15-20 months
- NSCLC adenocarcinoma stage I 5-year survival 83%
- Squamous cell stage II 5-year survival 65%
- Stage 0 lung cancer (carcinoma in situ) 5-year survival 100%
- Unknown stage lung cancer 5-year survival 11%
- Stage I squamous cell 5-year survival 80%
- Stage III SCLC 5-year survival <5%
- Distant stage adenocarcinoma 5-year survival 7%
- Regional SCLC 5-year survival 18%
Stage-Based Survival Interpretation
The numbers tell a brutally simple story: where lung cancer is found defines your fate, with survival rates plummeting from a hopeful whisper in the early stages to a grim statistic once it has marched beyond its original borders.
Treatment-Related Survival
- Surgery for stage I NSCLC improves 5-year survival to 80-90%
- Chemotherapy alone for advanced NSCLC median survival 10 months
- Targeted therapy for EGFR-mutant NSCLC median OS 38 months
- Immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) for PD-L1+ NSCLC 5-year OS 20%
- Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for early-stage NSCLC 5-year survival 85-90%
- Concurrent chemoradiation for stage III NSCLC 5-year survival 30%
- Limited-stage SCLC with chemo+RT 5-year survival 25-30%
- Osimertinib in EGFR T790M NSCLC median OS 38.6 months
- Alectinib for ALK+ NSCLC 5-year OS 63%
- Nivolumab for squamous NSCLC 2-year OS 29%
- Lobectomy vs wedge resection stage I NSCLC 5-year survival 88% vs 82%
- Adjuvant chemotherapy post-surgery stage II NSCLC improves 5-year survival by 5%
- Proton therapy for stage III NSCLC 3-year survival 50%
- Durvalumab consolidation after chemoradiation stage III NSCLC 5-year OS 43%
- Carboplatin-paclitaxel chemo median survival 8-10 months stage IV
- Crizotinib for ROS1 NSCLC median PFS 19.2 months
- PCI in limited SCLC increases 3-year survival from 15% to 21%
- Neoadjuvant chemo for resectable NSCLC 3-year survival 65%
- IO + chemo first-line stage IV NSCLC 2-year survival 50%
- Lorlatinib for ALK NSCLC 5-year OS 60%
Treatment-Related Survival Interpretation
The progress in lung cancer survival is a stark tale of two realities: a near-cure for early stages and a hard-fought, incremental gain for advanced disease, where each new therapy is a crucial foothold on a steeper cliff.
Sources & References
- Reference 1SEERseer.cancer.govVisit source
- Reference 2CANCERcancer.orgVisit source
- Reference 3CANCERRESEARCHUKcancerresearchuk.orgVisit source
- Reference 4PUBMEDpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govVisit source
- Reference 5CANCERcancer.govVisit source
- Reference 6CANCERcancer.caVisit source
- Reference 7AIHWaihw.gov.auVisit source