Lung cancer survival has increased in the last 50 years in the UK and it is predicted that around 1 in 10 (11.1%) people diagnosed with lung cancer survive their disease for ten years or more (2018). Five-year relative survival for lung cancer in the UK is generally below the European average.
For lung cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
Our data hubs below offer an in-depth breakdown of the most up to date cancer statistics.
Lung cancer ten-year survival in the UK is higher in females than in males (2018).
Explore more detailed gender stats on our data hub for lung cancer
1 in 3 (32.7%) females and more than 1 in 5 (22.2%) males in the UK diagnosed with lung cancer aged 15-44 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around 1 in 10 (9.2%) females and 5 in 100 (5.2%) males diagnosed aged 75-99 (2018).
Explore more detailed age stats on our data hub for lung cancer
1 in 5 (20.1%) people diagnosed with lung cancer in the most deprived group in England survive their disease for five years or more, compared with more than 1 in 4 (27.6%) in the least deprived group (2018-2022).
Explore more detailed deprivation stats on our data hub for lung cancer
In the 1970s, almost 5 in 100 (3.3%) people diagnosed with lung cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by 2018 it was around 1 in 10 (11.1%).
Explore more detailed trends stats on our data hub for lung cancer
Lung cancer ten-year survival has increased in the UK in both women and men in all broad age groups since the early 1970s.
Explore more detailed trends by age stats on our data hub for lung cancer
Almost 1 in 5 (18.1%) people diagnosed with lung cancer in England survive their disease for five years or more. For people who have already survived for one year, more than 4 in 10 (43.5%) survive their disease for five years or more (2015-2019).
Explore more detailed conditional survival stats on our data hub for lung cancer
View our latest cancer statistics including key stats, in-depth explanations and raw data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, risk, and diagnosis and treatment.
View full A-Z cancer statisticsFind information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.
Go to local cancer statistics - search profiles by area, constituency or health board in the UK.
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