What to know
Incidence and death rates, by sex
Males had higher rates than females of being disgnosed with and dying from lung cancer.
Stage distribution
From 2019 to 2023, nearly half of all lung cancers were diagnosed at a distant stage, meaning the cancer had spread from the lungs to distant parts of the body. More than one-fourth of lung cancers were found at a localized stage (the cancer had not spread outside the lungs) and less than one-fourth at a regional stage (the cancer had spread from the lungs to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs).
5-year relative survival
Relative survival estimates whether lung cancer shortens a patient’s life. Overall, 30% of lung cancer patients had not died from their cancer 5 years later. However, survival rates differed depending on the stage at which the cancer was detected.
Most lung cancers are found after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, when survival is lowest. Lung cancer screening can find cancer earlier, when treatment works better. Lung cancer screening is recommended for people who are at high risk because of their smoking history and age.
5-year limited duration prevalence
Among people diagnosed with lung cancer from 2018 to 2022, 465,191 were still alive on January 1, 2023.
Impact of COVID-19
Data sources
Data are from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics.
U.S. Cancer Statistics incidence data are from population-based registries that participate in CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, or both programs and have met high-quality data criteria for data submitted in 2025, covering 100% of the U.S. population.
U.S. Cancer Statistics death data are from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System and cover 100% of the U.S. population.
U.S. Cancer Statistics survival and prevalence data are from 40 NPCR registries that have met high-quality data criteria for the 2025 data submission and conducted linkage with the National Death Index and/or active patient follow-up, covering 90.1% of the U.S. population. Five-year relative survival estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2016 to 2022. Five-year limited-duration prevalence estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2018 to 2022.