From the Guidelines
The incidence of Stage 4 (metastatic) lung cancer in the United States is estimated to be around 57-60% of all newly diagnosed lung cancer cases, which translates to approximately 134,000-141,000 new cases annually, based on the estimated 235,760 new cases of lung and bronchial cancer diagnosed in 2021 1.
Key Statistics
- An estimated 235,760 new cases of lung and bronchial cancer will be diagnosed in the US in 2021, with 131,880 estimated deaths 1.
- Only 26% of all patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are alive 5 years after diagnosis, and the 5-year relative survival rate for metastatic disease is approximately 6% when patients receive historic cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens 1.
- However, certain patients with metastatic NSCLC who are eligible for newer targeted therapies or immunotherapies are now surviving longer, with 5-year survival rates ranging from 15% to 50%, depending on the biomarker 1.
Risk Factors and Detection
- Risk factors for lung cancer include smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, radon gas, asbestos, and other environmental carcinogens.
- Early detection through screening with low-dose CT scans for high-risk individuals can help identify lung cancer at earlier, more treatable stages, potentially reducing the incidence of stage 4 diagnoses.
Treatment and Management
- The NCCN Guidelines for NSCLC address all aspects of management for NSCLC, including recent updates in targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and their respective biomarkers for eligible patients with NSCLC 1.
- New targeted therapies, such as capmatinib, lorlatinib, pralsetinib, selpercatinib, and fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan, are now recommended in the NCCN Guidelines for eligible patients with metastatic NSCLC who have certain actionable biomarkers 1.
From the Research
Incidence of Stage 4 Lung Cancer in the US
- The provided studies do not directly report the incidence of Stage 4 (metastatic) lung cancer in the United States.
- However, it is mentioned that non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80-85% of all cases of lung cancer 2, and lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States 3.
- The studies focus on the treatment and management of NSCLC, including targeted therapies and biomarker-directed approaches 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
- According to the studies, the 5-year overall survival rate for patients with metastatic NSCLC has improved, with some studies reporting rates exceeding 25% 3 and 40% among patients with ALK-positive tumors 3.
- The studies emphasize the importance of molecular testing and biomarker-directed therapies in improving overall survival for patients with metastatic NSCLC 3, 6.