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  3. Trends in Lung Disease
  4. Lung Cancer Trends Brief
  5. Prevalence and Incidence

Lung Cancer Trends Brief: Prevalence and Incidence

This page includes lung cancer prevalence by years since diagnosis and cancer site, and lung cancer incidence rates by sex, year, race/ethnicity, and state.

Prevalence

  • In 2020, 603,989 people were alive who had ever been diagnosed with lung cancer.
  • Most (55%) were diagnosed in the last 5 years.
  • Despite accounting for 11% of new cases, lung cancer only accounts for 3% of patients ever diagnosed with cancer due to its low survival rate compared to other leading cancers.

Sex

Differences
  • In 2019, 221,097 people were diagnosed with lung cancer; 112,003 were men, and 109,094 were women.
  • In 2019, men (59.2 per 100,000 population) were 23% more likely than women (48.1 per 100,000 population) to be diagnosed with lung cancer.
Trends
  • The rate of new cases (incidence) increased 14% among men from 1975 until peaking in 1984, and has since decreased 42%.
  • The rate of new cases increased 133% among women from 1975 until peaking in 1998, and has since decreased 16%.
  • Over the last 10 years, rates have decreased by 23% for men and 11% for women.
  • Over the last 5 years, rates have decreased by 14% for men and 8% for women.

 Data Table PDF

Lung Cancer Age-Adjusted Incidence Rates1 by Site, Race and Sex, 1975-2020

  All Races White Black
Year/Site Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females
1975 50.8 86.5 24.4 51.0 87.0 24.8 60.9 108.8 24.6
1976 53.6 90.5 26.9 53.5 90.7 27.0 66.8 123.7 26.4
1977 54.6 91.9 27.3 54.5 92.3 27.4 65.6 117.0 26.6
1978 55.7 92.6 28.8 55.7 92.7 29.3 69.2 128.0 25.7
1979 57.0 93.3 30.6 56.9 93.5 30.8 73.1 130.2 32.0
1980 57.5 94.7 30.5 57.3 94.2 31.2 77.4 139.8 30.9
1981 58.9 94.1 33.4 59.1 94.4 34.2 75.3 136.5 31.1
1982 59.8 94.0 35.5 60.2 94.2 36.5 74.7 133.7 32.7
1983 59.8 93.0 36.1 60.0 92.3 37.7 81.2 147.9 33.5
1984 62.2 96.6 37.7 62.0 95.8 38.2 87.6 157.1 38.5
1985 61.3 92.7 38.7 61.8 92.9 39.7 79.8 132.6 41.8
1986 62.6 93.6 40.6 63.1 93.8 41.8 84.2 145.6 41.9
1987 65.3 96.3 43.3 66.3 97.1 44.8 77.7 128.2 41.8
1988 65.1 93.5 44.7 66.2 94.4 46.5 79.9 132.5 42.8
1989 64.3 93.0 43.8 65.1 93.2 45.4 85.4 141.4 46.6
1990 65.2 92.5 45.8 66.0 92.9 47.1 82.6 131.4 49.8
1991 65.4 91.7 46.8 65.9 91.5 48.3 88.0 140.3 51.3
1992 66.4 91.9 48.3 66.5 90.8 49.8 92.3 145.4 55.8
1993 64.2 88.9 46.5 64.9 88.5 48.4 81.3 128.9 48.5
1994 63.5 85.3 48.2 64.6 86.1 49.8 76.5 113.9 50.6
1995 63.6 84.6 48.4 64.6 84.0 50.8 78.5 130.6 44.3
1996 63.5 83.9 49.0 64.6 83.7 51.3 77.0 121.5 49.3
1997 63.7 81.6 50.8 64.9 81.3 53.4 76.3 121.1 46.6
1998 64.2 83.9 50.0 65.3 83.4 52.5 82.1 128.1 51.7
1999 62.9 80.3 50.4 64.2 80.3 52.9 74.9 108.4 52.5
2000 61.4 78.7 48.8 62.3 78.0 51.1 78.0 112.9 54.4
2001 60.7 77.1 48.8 62.2 77.6 51.0 73.4 105.6 52.0
2002 61.0 76.1 50.3 62.3 76.4 52.4 75.6 104.6 56.8
2003 61.2 76.4 50.3 62.6 76.2 52.9 72.4 102.8 52.1
2004 59.1 72.7 49.1 60.1 72.4 51.1 69.0 96.6 51.1
2005 59.6 71.6 51.0 61.0 71.7 53.4 67.7 91.2 52.2
2006 59.0 70.2 50.7 60.1 69.5 53.1 69.2 93.0 52.5
2007 58.7 69.8 50.5 60.1 69.4 53.2 67.1 93.2 49.5
2008 56.8 67.4 49.0 57.9 66.8 51.6 66.5 90.2 50.9
2009 56.7 67.0 49.1 57.8 66.8 51.3 67.6 90.3 53.1
2010 54.4 64.1 47.2 55.9 64.4 49.3 60.8 76.3 50.6
2011 53.3 62.4 46.4 54.8 62.9 48.8 56.4 75.2 44.1
2012 52.7 61.1 46.5 53.6 60.5 48.5 63.6 82.8 50.4
2013 51.5 58.4 46.3 52.6 58.1 48.4 56.7 71.2 47.2
2014 50.4 57.1 45.3 52.0 57.5 48.0 54.6 70.0 44.8
2015 49.4 56.3 44.1 50.5 55.9 46.4 55.4 71.0 45.0
2016 48.9 55.8 43.7 50.0 55.2 46.1 53.7 69.9 42.2
2017 48.2 54.4 43.7 49.3 53.9 45.8 54.0 69.2 44.0
2018 46.0 50.6 42.5 46.9 50.8 44.1 50.6 58.6 45.0
2019 45.9 49.3 43.4 46.8 49.1 45.2 51.7 58.9 46.8
2020 39.7 43.0 37.3 40.7 43.2 38.9 43.5 49.3 39.6

Source:
National Cancer Institute. SEER*Explorer, 2023.

  1. Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Race/Ethnicity
  • The rate of new cases (incidence) was greater among men than women for all racial and ethnic groups.
  • Rates in 2016-2020 were highest among Black males (68.3 per 100,000 population) followed by white males (61.5 per 100,000 population), an 11% difference.
  • Rates were lower among Asian/Pacific Islander males, American Indian/Alaska Native males, and lowest among Latino males.
  • Rates in 2016-2020 were highest among white females (52.7 per 100,000 population) followed by American Indian/Alaska Native females (44.4 per 100,000 population; 19% lower) and Black females (44.0 per 100,000 population; 20% lower).
  • Rates were much lower among Asian/Pacific Islander females, and lowest among Latina females.

 Data Table PDF

Incidence Rates by Sex and Race/Ethnicity, 2016-2020
  Non-Hispanic  
Sex Total White Black Asian / Pacific Islander American Indian / Alaska Native Hispanic
Males 56.4 61.5 68.3 42.2 51.5 31.8
Females 45.3 52.7 44.0 27.7 44.4 22.3
Total 50.0 56.4 53.8 34.0 47.3 26.2

Source:
National Cancer Institute. SEER*Explorer, 2023.

  1. (1) Rates are per 100,000 age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Incidence rates obtained from 18 SEER areas.

State

  • The rate of new cases (incidence) among men in 2019 ranged from a low of 28.3 per 100,000 population in Utah to 93.4 per 100,000 population in Kentucky.
  • The rate of new cases (incidence) among women in 2019 ranged from a low of 25.0 per 100,000 population in Utah to 75.6 per 100,000 population in Kentucky.

Male Incidence Rates by State, 2019

Female Incidence Rates by State, 2019

 Data Table PDF

Incidence Counts and Age-Adjusted Rates by State and Sex, 2019
  Male Female
State Incidence Counts Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate Incidence Counts Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate
Alabama 2,233 74.8 1,723 47.4
Alaska 197 52.2 194 51.0
Arizona 1,928 41.7 1,977 37.1
Arkansas 1,604 86.6 1,338 62.0
California 8,374 41.1 8,469 34.1
Colorado 1,165 38.9 1,306 37.0
Connecticut 1,275 58.2 1,432 52.9
Delaware 396 60.9 365 45.9
District of Columbia 149 51.8 157 38.9
Florida 9,004 58.4 8,679 48.0
Georgia 3,562 64.8 3,308 48.9
Hawaii 419 45.7 381 36.3
Idaho 469 44.6 512 44.0
Illinois 4,458 61.9 4,634 52.7
Indiana 2,660 68.8 2,551 55.5
Iowa 1,353 69.1 1,221 54.4
Kansas 1,009 60.0 955 48.0
Kentucky 2,512 93.4 2,412 75.6
Louisiana 1992 75.1 1649 51.6
Maine 729 72.4 729 63.7
Maryland 1,855 55.1 2,026 47.5
Massachusetts 2,414 59.8 2,852 56.4
Michigan* 4,080 64.9 3,989 53.8
Minnesota 1,792 54.0 1,824 47.6
Mississippi 1,453 85.5 1,149 54.6
Missouri 2,758 73.9 2,717 60.7
Montana 362 48.7 357 44.7
Nebraska 647 57.9 605 46.6
Nevada 834 49.8 902 48.9
New Hampshire 581 63.9 620 58.7
New Jersey 2,787 54.7 3,046 47.0
New Mexico 438 33.2 448 29.4
New York 6,732 59.4 7,424 52.1
North Carolina 4,325 71.0 4,031 53.6
North Dakota 234 52.7 254 53.4
Ohio 5,146 71.7 4,987 58.0
Oklahoma 1,689 75.1 1,522 57.3
Oregon 1,329 50.0 1,354 43.8
Pennsylvania 5,399 65.3 5,230 52.3
Rhode Island 455 72.0 451 56.6
South Carolina 2,225 68.8 1,875 47.8
South Dakota 290 52.8 311 50.5
Tennessee 3,273 80.4 2,845 58.4
Texas 7,147 52.8 6,239 38.3
Utah 379 28.3 383 25.0
Vermont 255 56.4 246 50.1
Virginia 2,783 57.2 2,642 45.2
Washington 2,165 50.1 2,331 46.7
West Virginia 1,052 81.8 934 65.3
Wisconsin 2,293 62.5 2,215 52.4
Wyoming 159 42.4 177 45.7
United States 112,003 59.2 109,094 48.1

Source:
National Cancer Institute. State Cancer Profiles web system, 2023.

  1. Rates are per 100,000 population, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
  2. Total may not equal sum of all states due to reliance on data submissions from differing dates.

*Data do not include cases diagnosed in other states.

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