November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month

JOIN WITH THE AACR TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO PREVENT AND TREAT LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. About 64,190 men and 60,540 women are estimated to die from lung cancer in 2025.

According to estimates by the National Cancer Institute, 226,650 patients are expected to receive a diagnosis of lung or bronchus cancer in the United States in 2025. The estimated five-year relative survival rate is 28.1%.

Smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths, according to experts. Other risk factors for lung cancer include being exposed to secondhand smoke; having a family history of lung cancer; being treated with radiation therapy to the breast or chest; exposure to asbestos, arsenic, chromium, beryllium, or nickel in the workplace; and exposure to radon. When smoking is combined with other risk factors, the risk of lung cancer increases.

Forms of lung cancer

There are two main forms of lung cancer—small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the more common form of the disease, accounting for over 85% of diagnosed cases. The most common subtypes of NSCLC are:

squamous cell carcinoma, which begins in the thin, flat squamous cells;
large cell carcinoma; and
adenocarcinoma.

About 10% to 15% of all lung cancer cases are small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This is a fast-growing, aggressive disease with poor outcomes. Unfortunately, most patients with SCLC are diagnosed with extensive-stage disease. That means it has spread beyond the lung and the area between the lungs to other lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Overall, 5% to 10% of patients with SCLC are alive five years after diagnosis.

Screening recommendation

Current guidelines recommend annual screening with low-dose CT scan in adults aged 50 to 80 who have a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or stopped smoking within the past 15 years. Specifically, a pack-year is the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day times the number of years smoking. Thus, someone who smoked one pack per day for 20 years has a 20-pack-year smoking history.

stories of People’s experiences

Phuong Ho, MD, thought she was developing asthma and was surprised to learn she had lung cancer instead. Read her story in the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024.
“The bottom line is anyone with lungs can get lung cancer,” says Daniel West about his diagnosis and treatment. His story is in the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024.
In 2021, Aurora Lucas was diagnosed with stage 3 NSCLC at 28 years old. Now, she uses social media to share her journey and to highlight the unique needs of young adult cancer survivors. Read her story in Cancer Today.

action on smoking and lung cancer

Because of the potential impact of cigarette smoking and e-cigarette usage on cancer incidence and mortality, the AACR supports necessary measures to reduce these behaviors. Read more on the AACR blog, Cancer Research Catalyst: Supporting Tobacco Cessation on World Lung Cancer Day—and Beyond.

More on Lung Cancer

At the AACR Annual Meeting 2025, clinical trial presentations showcased several new therapies in development for NSCLC. Learn more on Cancer Research Catalyst.

With lung cancer on the rise among nonsmokers, William G. Nelson, MD, PhD, the Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Today and director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, looked at the impact of air pollution on lung cancer risk. Read more in Cancer Today.

The first-generation therapies targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were approved in the early 2000s for patients with late-stage NSCLC. But in recent years, researchers and regulatory agencies have expanded the reach of EGFR inhibitors. Learn more about EGFR inhibitors on Cancer Research Catalyst as well as the results of a recent trial that looked at the benefits of combining an EGFR inhibitor with chemotherapy in Cancer Today.

What the AACR is Doing in LunG Cancer Research

Lung Cancer Task Force

The AACR Lung Cancer Task Force brings together leading experts committed to advancing the field of lung cancer research. Led by the current chair, Charles Swanton, MBPhD, of the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Cancer Institute in the United Kingdom, this group is working to accelerate progress and improve outcomes for patients affected by lung cancer.

major Conference

The next AACR Lung Cancer Conference will be held January 14-17, 2027, in San Diego, California. The conference is held is association with the AACR Lung Cancer Task Force.

Grants for Lung Cancer Research

The AACR is active in supporting lung cancer research. Grant-supported research projects and other AACR initiatives in this area include:

In 2025, Yoojeong Seo, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, received the Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine. She is investigating ways to manipulate cell plasticity to alleviate radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis, which is a severe complication of thoracic radiation therapy.
Dena P. Rhinehart, MD, medical oncology fellow at Johns Hopkins University, received the inaugural AACR-EMD Serono “I’M IN” Oncodisparity Fellowship in Lung and Urothelial Cancers in 2025. Her work is on “Identifying key targets for and feasibility of improving molecular testing for non-small cell lung cancer in the rural United States.”
In 2025, Tomás Dalotto-Moreno, PhD, assistant investigator at the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IByME) in Argentina, was among the recipients of the AACR Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) Grants for Latin America. He is working to understand how to translate glycocodes into novel immunotherapeutic strategies to prevent T cell exhaustion, which could have an impact on several cancer types including lung cancer.
Verra Ngwa, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received the 2024 AACR-Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson START (Stimulating Therapeutic Advances through Research Training) Grant. Her project is investigating the role of metabolic genes in adoptive T-cell therapy for lung squamous carcinoma.

Earlier, an AACR grant assisted Patrick Ma, MD, in his research on mutations in the MET gene in lung cancer. He is now leader of the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology disease team at the Penn State Cancer Institute. His discoveries helped lay the basis for a targeted therapy for metastatic NSCLC patients with that mutation.

for more information

For more information, including guidance on prevention, screening, and treatment, please see our page on lung cancer.