Epidemiology

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the US in both men and women.[1]

In the US, in 2024, it is estimated that there will be 234,580 new cases of lung cancer and 125,070 deaths from lung cancer.[1] Globally, lung cancer accounted for 1.8 million deaths in 2020.[6]​ 

Age-adjusted lung cancer incidence in the US (2016-2020) is higher in males than in females (56.4 new cases per 100,000 vs. 45.3 cases per 100,000, respectively).[7] Median age at diagnosis in the US is 71 years.[7] Incidence rates are highest in non-Hispanic black males.[7]

Recent declines in the incidence rate of lung cancer (approximately 2% decrease per year since the mid-2000s in the US and 6.5% decrease in age-standardized incidence globally between 2010 and 2019) may relate to reductions in tobacco use in more recent decades.[8][9]​ However, in 2021, an estimated 11.5% of the US population (28.3 million) still smoked tobacco.[10]

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