Survival statistics for lung cancer

About the information on this page

On thiThis page has quite detailed information about the survival rates for different stages of lung cancer. People ask us for this information but not everyone diagnosed with cancer wants to read it. If you are not sure whether you want to know at the moment, you can always come back to it later.

The statistics here are intended as a general guide and can't tell you what is likely to happen in your individual case.
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Cancer statistics in general

We have a section with detailed explanations about cancer statistics and also about incidence, mortality and survival. Unless you are very familiar with medical statistics, it might help to read this before you read the statistics below.

Remember that statistics are averages based on large numbers of patients. They cannot predict exactly what will happen to you. No two people are exactly alike and the response to treatment also varies from one person to another.

You should feel free to ask your doctor about the likely outlook for your cancer (your prognosis). But not even your own doctor can tell you for sure exactly what will happen.

You may hear doctors talk about  '1 year survival' and '5 year survival'. This relates to the number of people in research who lived for at least a year or at least 5 years after they were diagnosed. Doctors use these figures to compare the results of different treatments in research studies. It does not mean those people only lived for 1 year or 5 years.

Please note that there are no detailed UK statistics available for different stages of lung cancer or treatments that people may have had. Some of the statistics we present here are international statistics. They are pulled together from a variety of different sources. This includes the opinions and experience of the experts who check each section of Cancer Research UK's patient information.
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Overall outcome

Unfortunately, compared with some other types of cancer, the outlook for lung cancer is not very good. The statistics we have here are for all types of lung cancer in England and Wales. Overall, around 30 out of every 100 people (30%) will survive for 1 year or more after they are diagnosed. Around 10 out of every 100 people (10%) will survive for 5 years or more. And about 5 out of every 100 people (5%) will survive for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.

As with many other types of cancer, the outcome depends on how advanced your cancer is when it is diagnosed. In other words, the stage of your cancer. Lung cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. It is often diagnosed at a late stage. It tends to occur in older people who may also have other medical conditions.

With lung cancer the likely outcome will also depend very much on the type of lung cancer that you have. The statistics for non small cell lung cancer are different from the statistics for small cell lung cancer. So we have given them separately here.
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Outcome for non small cell lung cancer

There are 4 main stages for lung cancer. In 2007 a worldwide study (the Lung Cancer Staging Project) collected data about lung cancer on more than 81,000 patients from 19 countries. The study gave the following statistics about survival for non small cell lung cancer. There is a range of statistics for each stage because for some patients the stage was based on the results of scans and tests, and for other patients the stage was found during surgery.
Stage 1

This is the earliest stage and so has the best outcome. Depending on where the cancer is, it is often possible to remove stage 1 lung cancer with surgery. Unfortunately, it is not very common for lung cancer to be diagnosed this early. Stage 1 non small cell lung cancer is divided into 2 stages, stage 1A and 1B.

Of all the people with stage 1A non small cell lung cancer, between 58 and 73 people out of every 100 (58% to 73%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Of all the people with stage 1B non small cell lung cancer, between 43 and 58 people out of every 100 (43% to 58%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 2

Non small cell lung cancer stage 2 is also divided into stage 2A and 2B.

For stage 2A lung cancer, between 36 and 46 out of every 100 people diagnosed (36% to 46%) will survive for 5 years or more with treatment.

For stage 2B non small cell lung cancer, between 25 and 36 out of every 100 people diagnosed (25% to 36%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 3

As you might expect, the survival statistics fall with more advanced stages of lung cancer. Again, stage 3 is divided into stage 3A and stage 3B.

For stage 3A non small cell lung cancer, between 19 and 24 out of every 100 people diagnosed (19% to 24%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

For stage 3B, between 7 and 9 out of every 100 people diagnosed (7% to 9%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 4

The most advanced stage of lung cancer is stage 4. It means that the cancer has spread. Understandably, the survival statistics are very low for this stage. Unfortunately, lung cancer is often diagnosed late and for many people the cancer has already spread when they are diagnosed. Only between 2 and 13 out of every 100 people diagnosed with stage 4 non small cell lung cancer (2% to 13%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

It can seem illogical for stage 3B cancer to have 5 year survival rates from 7% to 9% and stage 4 from 2% to 13%. This is because the staging system only looks at the extent of the cancer. It does not look at the specific types of cancer. So the stage 4 group may include more people who have slowly growing cancers or cancer that responds very well to particular treatments than the stage 3 group.
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Outcome for small cell lung cancer

Sometimes doctors divide small cell lung cancers into just 2 groups. These are limited disease (the cancer has not spread beyond the lung) and extensive disease (the cancer has spread beyond the lung).

Of all the people diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, around 30 out of 100 (30%) have limited disease at the time of diagnosis. With treatment about 25 out of every 100 people (25%) will survive for 2 years or more.

2 out of 3 people with small cell lung cancer already have extensive disease at the time of diagnosis. Unfortunately the survival rate is very low. With treatment, fewer than 5 out of every 100 people (5%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

The Lung Cancer Staging Project used the TNM staging system to give the following statistics about survival based on the stage found by scans and tests. The project included more than 8,000 patients with small cell lung cancer.
Stage 1

The earliest stage of small cell lung cancer is stage 1. Doctors divide this group into 2 further stages, stage 1A and 1B.

Of all the people with stage 1A small cell lung cancer, almost 40 out of every 100 diagnosed (40%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Of all the people with stage 1B small cell lung cancer, around 20 out of every 100 diagnosed (20%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 2

Small cell lung cancer that is stage 2 is also divided into stage 2a and 2B.

For stage 2A lung cancer, almost 40 out of every 100 people diagnosed (40%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

For stage 2B small cell lung cancer, almost 20 out of every 100 people diagnosed (20%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

The survival rates for stage 2A seemed to be higher than for stage 1B. Researchers think this is because the study had very few patients in the stage 2A group. They suggest that those statistics may not be so reliable as the others.
Stage 3

As you might expect, the survival statistics fall with more advanced stages of lung cancer. Again, stage 3 is divided into stage 3A and stage 3B.

For stage 3A small cell lung cancer, almost 15 out of every 100 people diagnosed (15%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

For stage 3B, around 10 out of every 100 people diagnosed (10%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 4

The most advanced stage of small cell lung cancer is stage 4. It means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Understandably, the survival statistics are lowest for this stage. Unfortunately, lung cancer is often diagnosed late and for many people the cancer has already spread when they are diagnosed.

Only about 1 out of every 100 people (1%) diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer will survive for 5 years or more.
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Overall health

Another factor that can affect your prognosis, apart from the stage of your cancer, is how well you are overall. Doctors call this your performance status. A score of 0 means you are completely able to look after yourself. A score of 1 means you can do most things for yourself but need some help. The scores continue to go up, depending on how much help you need.

For example, if you are weak from losing weight, pain and feel very tired, you will need more day to day help, so your performance score will be at least 1. Doctors or researchers sometimes write performance status as 'PS'.
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How reliable are cancer statistics?

No statistics can tell you what will happen to you. Your cancer is unique. The same type of cancer can grow at different rates in different people for example.

The statistics are not detailed enough to tell you about the different treatments people may have had. And they also don't tell us how that treatment may have affected their prognosis. Chemotherapy, surgery, biological therapy and radiotherapy may help people to live longer as well as relieve symptoms. Many individual factors will determine your treatment and prognosis.
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Clinical trials

The treatment for many types of cancer has improved through clinical trials. Trials are currently aiming to improve treatment and increase survival rates for lung cancer. We have a section explaining clinical trials.

You can search our clinical trials database for lung cancer trials.

lung cancer impact statement NHS
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More detailed statistics

If you would like to read more about survival rates and other statistics for lung cancer, go to our CancerStats page:

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/lung-cancer