Survival for lung cancer
Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
About these statistics
The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and researchers collect information. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.
5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.
Survival by stage
There are no UK-wide statistics available for lung cancer survival by stage.
Survival statistics are available for each stage of lung cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017. These statistics are non-age-standardised which means they don't take into account the age of the people with lung cancer.
Stage 1
More than 55 out of 100 people (more than 55%) with stage 1 lung cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they’re diagnosed.
Stage 2
Around 35 out of 100 people (around 35%) with stage 2 lung cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they’re diagnosed.
Stage 3
Almost 15 out of 100 people (almost 15%) with stage 3 lung cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they’re diagnosed.
Stage 4
Almost 5 out of 100 people (almost 5%) with stage 4 lung cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they’re diagnosed.
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
Characteristics of patients with missing information on stage: a population-based study of patients diagnosed with a colon, lung or breast cancer in England in 2013
C Girolam and others
BMC Cancer (2018). Volume 18, Page 492
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
Survival for all stages of lung cancer
Generally for people with lung cancer in England:
- around 40 out of every 100 people (around 40%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more
- around 15 out of every 100 people (around 15%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more
- 10 out of every 100 people (10%) will survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
What affects survival
Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread.
The type of cancer can also affect your survival. The type means which type of cell the cancer started from.
Your general health and fitness also affect survival. The fitter you are, the better you may be able to cope with your cancer and treatment.
More statistics
For more in-depth information about survival and lung cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
