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CancerStats Key Facts on Lung Cancer and Smoking

This page presents key lung cancer incidence, survival and mortality statistics, and the key causes of lung cancer. A table of the latest lung cancer statistics is also available.

You can download a PDF of the CancerStats Key Facts on Lung Cancer page.

The lung cancer statistics on these pages are designed for health professionals. If you are looking for information because you or someone you know has been affected by breast cancer , then the CancerHelp UK pages on lung cancer may be more useful and relevant. CancerHelp UK also includes a straightforward guide to understanding statistics.

How common is lung cancer?

• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the UK
• In 2006, around 39,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK, that’s 107 people every day
• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men after prostate cancer, with more than 22,300 new cases diagnosed each year
• More than 16,600 women were diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK in 2006, making it the third most common cancer in women after breast and bowel cancer.
• More than 8 in 10 lung cancer cases occur in people aged 60 and over.
• Rates of lung cancer in Scotland are among the highest in the world, reflecting their history of high smoking prevalence.
• In the 1950s, for every lung cancer case diagnosed in women in the UK, there were 6 in men. That ratio is now 3 cases in women for every 4 in men.
• Lung cancer incidence rates in men peaked in the late 1970s and since then have decreased by more than 45%. This reflects the decline in smoking rates in men after World War II.
• Lung cancer rates among women increased slowly until the early 1990s and have since levelled off. The difference in lung cancer trends in men and women reflect variations in past smoking behaviour.
• Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world with 1.3 million people diagnosed in 2002.
• Worldwide, the highest rates of lung cancer in men are in Central and Eastern Europe and Northern America, and for women in Northern America.
• The lowest lung cancer rates in the world for men and women are in Northern, Western and Middle African countries and South Central Asia; but this will change if the current trends in the uptake of smoking persist in countries like China.

Read more in depth lung cancer incidence statistics.

How many people survive lung cancer?

• Lung cancer survival rates are higher the earlier the cancer is diagnosed.
• More than two-thirds of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage and so survival rates for these patients are lower.
• Overall, only 7% of lung cancer patients survive for at least five years after diagnosis.

Read more in depth lung cancer survival statistics.

How many people die from lung cancer?

• Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for more than 1 in 5 deaths.
• Each year in the UK, around 34,500 people die from lung cancer, that’s around 95 every day.
• More than three-quarters of people who die from lung cancer are aged 65 or over.

Read more in depth lung cancer mortality statistics.

What causes lung cancer?

• The link between tobacco and cancer was established more than 50 years ago.
• Smoking causes almost 90% of lung cancer deaths.
• In Britain, around 1 in 5 adults smoke cigarettes, that’s about 9.5 million people.
• Less than 1% of 11 and 12 year olds in England are smokers, but this rises to 20% by age 15.
• Stopping smoking before middle age avoids most of the risk of smoking-related lung cancer.
• Living with someone who smokes, increases risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by about a quarter.
• It is estimated that exposure to passive smoke in the home causes around 11,000 deaths every year in the UK from lung cancer, stroke and ischaemic heart disease.
• Radon is a naturally occurring gas that increases risk of lung cancer, especially among smokers.
• A small proportion of lung cancer cases are caused by heavy exposure to industrial carcinogens and air pollutants, including diesel exhaust, asbestos, non-ferrous metals, silica, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.

Read more in depth lung cancer risk factors.

Why not browse through our other lung cancer sections...