Prognosis for Lung Cancer

Prognosis for Lung Cancer

Lung cancer has a poor prognosis. On average, people with untreated advanced non–small cell lung cancer survive 6 months. Even with treatment, people with extensive small cell lung cancer or advanced non–small cell lung cancer do especially poorly, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 1%. Early diagnosis improves survival. People with early non–small cell lung cancer have a 5-year survival of 50 to 70%. However, people who are treated definitively for an earlier stage lung cancer and survive but continue to smoke are at high risk of developing another lung cancer.

Survivors must have regular checkups, including periodic chest x-rays and CT scans to ensure that the cancer has not returned. Usually, if the cancer returns, it occurs within the first 2 years. However, frequent monitoring is recommended for 5 years after lung cancer treatment, and then people are monitored yearly for the rest of their lives.

Because many people die of lung cancer, planning for terminal care is usually necessary. Advances in end-of-life care, particularly the recognition that anxiety and pain are common in people with incurable lung cancer and that these symptoms can be relieved by appropriate drugs, have led to an increasing number of people being able to die comfortably at home, with or without hospice services