In 2005, an estimated 172,570 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed, making it the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States and accounting for 13 percent of all cancer diagnoses. In men, the incidence rate has declined significantly, going from 102.1 cases per 100,000 in 1984 to 77.7 in 2001. The incidence rate in women has also declined for the first time after a long period of increase, from 52.8 cases per 100,000 in 1998 to 49.1 in 2001.
An estimated 163,510 individuals will die from the disease – about 29 percent of all cancer deaths. Among all patients with lung cancer, 42 percent are alive after one year – an increase from 37 percent in 1975. Still, the relative five-year survival rate for all lung cancers combined is only 15 percent. While 49 percent of individuals live at least five years when their cancer is diagnosed early and remains only in the lungs, very few cancers – about 16 percent – are detected at this stage.
In 1987, lung cancer surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death each year in women. Lung cancer death rates in women have recently leveled off after decades of continual increase. In contrast, death rates in men have dropped by about 1.9 percent a year since 1991.
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