Updated August 14, 2014.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
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, and treatments used. Smoking cessation is demonstrated to improve survival in patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer and in some patients with small cell lung cancer. The majority of patients with lung cancer have metastatic non-small cell cancers at the time of diagnosis, and there is no data showing that smoking cessation improves survival in this population.
Factors Thay May Affect Survival Rates
Not everyone living with lung cancer is interested in hearing statistics about survival rates. Some people want to know what they can expect (statistically that is) with their particular type of lung cancer, whereas others find numbers about survival rates to be discouraging. It is important for loved ones to be sensitive to this, and honor the wishes of their loved one with cancer. That said, even if you aren't interested in statistics there are things you can do to raise your odds. Check out this article to see things (other than surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy) that have been found to increase survival in well-researched studies.
Ways to Improve Lung Cancer Survival That Even Your Doctor May Not Know
Overall Survival Rates by Lung Cancer Type
- Small Cell Lung Cancer - The overall 5-year survival rate for small cell lung cancer (limited and extensive) is only about 6%.
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - The overall 5-year survival rate for non-small cell lung cancer (all stages combined) is roughly 18%.
- BAC (Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma) - The survival rate with BAC is significantly better than with other forms of non-small cell lung cancer, especially when it is caught early and only one tumor is present. In one study, those who were diagnosed with BAC and had tumors less than 3 centimeters in diameter, had a 5-year survival rate of 100% with surgery. The 5-year survival rate for people with more advanced stages of the disease varies considerably.
Survival Rates by Lung Cancer Stage
As mentioned above, survival rates do not reflect differences in individuals. In addition, keep in mind that not everyone with a particular stage of lung cancer has the same prognosis. Staging lung cancer can help guide treatment, but there is a wide spectrum of cancers within each stage.- Stage 1 Non-Small Cell - The overall 5-year survival rate for stage 1A lung cancer is 49% and for 1B is 45%.
- Stage 2 Non-Small Cell - The overall survival rate with stage 2A lung cancer is 30% and for stage 2B lung cancer, 31%.
- Stage 3A Non-Small Cell - The overall survival rate for stage 3A lung cancer is 14%, but this varies widely among different cancers that are classified as stage 3A.
- Stage 3B Non-Small Cell - The 5-year survival rate with stage 3B lung cancer is only 5%. The median survival time with treatment is 13 months.
- Stage 4 (Metastatic) Non-Small Cell - The overall 5-year survival rate with stage 4 lung cancer is sadly only 1%. The median survival time is about 8 months.
- Small Cell Lung Cancer - The overall 5-year survival rate for both stages of small cell lung cancer (limited stage plus extensive stage) is only about 6%. Without treatment, the average life expectancy for extensive disease is 2 to 4 months, and with treatment is 6 to 12 months.
Sources:
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Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Program of Cancer Registries. United States Cancer Statistics. 1995-2005 Cancer Incidence and Mortality Data. Accessed 02/16/10. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/
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