Lung Cancer Survival Rates

Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain amount of time (usually 5 years) after they were diagnosed.

How do the numbers apply to you?

Survival rates can’t tell you how long you will live, but they may help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful.

Keep in mind that survival rates are estimates and are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had a specific cancer, but they can’t predict what will happen in any particular person’s case. These statistics can be confusing and may lead you to have more questions. Ask your doctor, who is familiar with your situation, how these numbers may apply to you.

What is a 5-year relative survival rate?

A relative survival rate compares people with the same type and stage of cancer to people in the overall population. For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific stage of lung cancer is 60%, it means that people who have that cancer are, on average, about 60% as likely as people who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed.

Where do these numbers come from?

The American Cancer Society relies on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer.

The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by AJCC TNM stages (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, etc.). Instead, it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages:

• Localized: There is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the lung.
• Regional: The cancer has spread outside the lung to nearby structures or lymph nodes.
• Distant: The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the brain, bones, liver, or the other lung.

5-year relative survival rates for non-small cell lung cancer

These numbers are based on people diagnosed with NSCLC between 2012 and 2018.

SEER stage	5-year relative survival rate
Localized	65%
Regional	37%
Distant	9%
All SEER stages combined	28%

 

5-year relative survival rates for small cell lung cancer

These numbers are based on people diagnosed with SCLC between 2012 and 2018.

SEER stage	5-year relative survival rate
Localized	30%
Regional	18%
Distant	3%
All SEER stages combined	7%

  

Understanding the numbers

• These numbers apply only to the stage of the cancer when it is first diagnosed. They do not apply later on if the cancer grows, spreads, or comes back after treatment.
• These numbers don’t take everything into account. Survival rates are grouped based on how far the cancer has spread. But other factors, such as the subtype of NSCLC, gene changes in the cancer cells, your age and overall health, and how well the cancer responds to treatment, can also affect your outlook.
• People now being diagnosed with NSCLC or SCLC may have a better outlook than these numbers show. Treatments have improved over time, and these numbers are based on people who were diagnosed and treated at least 5 years earlier.