Lung Cancer Prognosis

Unfortunately, lung cancer prognosis is generally quite poor. However, as with many forms of cancer, the prognosis depends heavily on the stage at which the cancer is first detected (diagnosed). Patients who are diagnosed early, when the tumor is small and still confined to the area of the lungs from which it originated, have the best chance at successful treatment and even cure, whereas patients who are diagnosed late, when the tumor is already widespread (particularly if it has spread, metastasized, to distant organs like the liver or brain), have very poor prognoses.

As a general rule, without treatment, patients with advanced lung cancer will die within 6 months to a year. With maximal treatment, lung cancer prognosis is not much better for patients who present with widespread, advanced disease, with 5-survival rates that are very low, as low as 1%. While treatment may help improve symptoms or slightly delay tumor progression in these patients, it is rarely if ever curative and the cancer eventually claims the patient's life. On the other end of the spectrum, if a cancer is caught very early, before it gets large or spreads to other organs, 5-year survival can be well over 60% with some people cured completely.

Unfortunately, is is common for lung cancer to be diagnosed when it is already quite advanced. However, if cancer can be caught early, the treatment and outcome is more likely to be successfull.